


The Hope Diamond

by iloveyoursmile



Category: Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Law Enforcement, Alternative Universe - FBI, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Inspired by White Collar, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-14 15:56:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7178585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveyoursmile/pseuds/iloveyoursmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec knew that being and FBI agent would come with challenges, he just didn't know this would be one of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: The beginning few lines can be taken very negatively, please keep in mind they are not meant that way, and are not a reflection of my personal views, or the characters. It is not meant to be insensitive, please do not take it that way, keep in mind it's a story. It is the only part of the story that is like that. Thank you, and I love you <3\. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Bits have been taken from White Collar, aren't any real spoilers, and this isn't anything like the TV show. There are many, many FBI inaccuracies, and I apologies for anyone who reads them and winces, I had to take some liberties for this story. 
> 
> Massive shoutout to Marie, she was an amazing beta, couldn't ask for a more awesome one, so go follow her at fluffymalec!
> 
> Otherwise I hope you like the story!!

_ “When you're up there don't talk anything crazy.” _

_ “I'm supposed to be suicidal, how am I supposed to play the suicidal part if I can't talk crazy?” _

_ “Just...say you lost someone or something, nothing about the vampires, or werewolves, okay? Just...the normal kind of crazy.” _

_ “I take offense to that.” _

_ “Good, you were supposed to. Just...try not to be all that memorable, is what I'm saying.” _

_ “Fine, fine, I'll be the ‘usual type’ of crazy...see you on the flip side.” _

 

\---    

 

When Alec walks back into the FBI building after a nice lunch with his sister, Isabelle, Jace, his partner and adoptive brother, is on him immediately, “Come on, man, we've got a case!” Jace says while he waggles his eyebrows obnoxiously.

“Already? I was only gone an hour,” Alec sighs, turning to follow Jace back out the door, “I assume I'm driving?”

“Well it is your turn, partner! Aline and Lydia are meeting us there,” Jace laughs, Alec wonders briefly what has made Jace so happy. The thought barely passing through his mind when Jace says, “Man, you are not gonna believe the story I've got for you--”

“Let me guess, it involves Clary,” Alec says in a bored tone, Clary was Jace's girlfriend for over three years now; they had met when Clary was starting as Assistant District Attorney, five years ago. Clary was now the official DA and Jace had been talking about marriage for a few months, though Alec had his doubts that he would go through with it.

“Yeah, we went and visited her parents last weekend, right?” Alec gave a soft, ‘mhm,’ to show he was listening as he started the car and pulled out into traffic. “And I finally got the chance to ask them if I could ask Clary to marry me. They said yes, bro! It's happening! I even got the ring, just got the call that it's ready and everything.”

Alec's mouth dropped open, “That's fantastic, Jace!” There was a time where hearing that news would've made Alec's heart clench and his breath come in painful gasps, but he had moved on once Jace and Clary had really gotten serious. Alec had done his best to let go of his feelings for his best friend, feelings that had never been really true in the first place.

“Yeah, I think part of me thought I was never gonna get there, but it's all starting to click into place, it's...sort of terrifying to be honest.”

Alec smiled at his partner, “It'll be fine, Jace, she'll say yes, and you guys will live happily ever after.”

Stepping out of the car, Jace rubbed the back of his neck, “You think so?”

Putting a reassuring hand on Jace's shoulder, Alec pulled him to a stop so he could look him in the eye, “I know so, Jace.”

Jace let out a breath, “Well, okay then. Let's get to work.”

Alec spotted Lydia Branwell and Aline Penhallow standing together just outside the building, waiting for them. He started moving towards them, Jace following behind him.

“Hey, how was your guy's lunch?” Alec greeted.

Aline smiled, “It was great; I met with Helen at this new place that we've been meaning to check out.”

“Was it any good?” Jace asked as they all started to head into the building.

“Helen liked it, I was indifferent to it, really,” Aline said, laughing fondly over her girlfriend.

Falling in step with Lydia, Alec nudged her shoulder, “How about you? What did you do for lunch?” Lydia had been with Alec all through Quantico, they had trained together, both pushing the other to their limits and they had stayed good friends. Lydia had helped him through his sexuality crisis and his crush on Jace. Alec had helped Lydia with her wedding and had been ready to help with her kids, but in the end he had had to help with the funeral. Lydia's husband, John, had been killed in the line of duty serving his country before they could even try for a child. The loss had hit Lydia hard, as one would expect, and she had taken some much deserved time off to recuperate. Now she was back and Alec was faced with the reality that one of his closest friends and allies was never going to be the same.

Lydia shrugged, “It was fine. I ate at my desk and did some paperwork.”

“You know you could've come with me and eaten lunch with Izzy and I? She hasn't seen you in a while. I know she misses you...” Alec said, softly.

Smiling, tightly, Lydia nodded, “I know, maybe next time.”

Knowing that was the end of the discussion for today, Alec turned his attention to where the gold had been before it was stolen. The vault was open, but at the back wall of the vault someone had obviously cut out a chunk of the wall.

“I assume that was the thief's point of entry?” Jace asked, pointing to the hole.

Aline nodded, taking point, “It's the only way in. Earlier today at about twelve thirty the fire department was called about a jumper on the building next door, which is a travel agency. Following protocol the fire department came and evacuated the building and tried to talk the man down. It was during this time we believe that the thief stole the gold. We also believe that the guy on the roof may have been involved because according to the person that went to talk him down, he was very abrupt when he got down and then just...disappeared.”

Lydia nodded, “Definitely sounds like the distraction, but the good thing about them using that tactic was that a crowd had gathered and lots were recording the whole thing on their phones. We have someone gathering the phones now and taking them back to the office.”

“Alright,” Alec said, thinking carefully, “Clearly this was well planned, it's clean, I'm assuming there were no cameras or any prints found?”

Aline shook her head, “No, so far nothing.”

Alec nodded slowly and started to pace, “How long did the whole thing take? Like from when the building was evacuated until the jumper disappeared?”

Glancing at her notepad, Aline said, “About thirty minutes.”

Jace whistled, “That's fast. I mean, think about it, he had to get in, cut through a wall, load up the gold, then put it back together, at least a little bit, and then get out.”

“Yeah, these guys are clearly clean, smart, resourceful, and efficient. There's no doubt they're professionals,” Alec said, wandering closer to the hole. “Come on, let's get back to the office and look through that footage. I want to see how this guy got in without standing out. Let's let CSU finish processing, I don't think there's much here that we haven't already figured out. “

“You're right, if these guys are professionals, we'll have better luck combing through the footage...still, some of us should stay behind and keep looking.” Lydia suggested.

Alec smiled at her, “You're right, Jace, Aline? Do you guys mind staying?”

Jace and Aline both shook their heads, “No, you go on, Aline and I can handle it here. Sounds better than watching boring footage of the same thing over and over again.”

“Okay, are you ready to go, Lydia?”  Alec asked, turning towards her.

“Yeah, Aline and I drove separately, so I'll meet you there.”

Alec agreed and they both headed out to their respective cars.

Only a couple of hours later found Alec and Lydia still combing through footage trying to spot something out of the ordinary.

“He could've been dressed like a businessman; the suitcase would've been able to hold the equipment he needed.” Lydia suggested.

“You're right, but we would've seen him exit the building after everyone else,” Alec countered, he rewound the tape, peering closer, noticing something odd. He rewound again, moving even closer to the tape.

“What? What is it?” Lydia asked, leaning over his shoulder. Alec pointed at one of the firemen going into the building.

“Why is that guy carrying compression tanks? They’re just evacuating a building, there's no fire...”

“Are the compression tanks big enough to hold all the equipment?” Lydia asked.

“Yeah, and since he's carrying the ax he wouldn't need to hide as much equipment, which would mean more room to stash the gold,” Alec said, “Could it have been one of the firemen?”

Lydia shook her head, “No, if we really think this is a career criminal, they wouldn't have gone through the training and application process, just to steal $1.8 million dollars' worth of Welsh gold coins.”

“You're right, so we're thinking impersonator?”

“Yeah,” Lydia agreed, “Let's go through this footage again, and see if we can catch his face on camera.”

Alec sighed, rubbing his eyes, “Jace and Aline should be back soon, we can take a break and when they get back we can keep looking.”

 

\--

 

_ “I can't believe what you're doing, this is reckless, and impulsive, we can't afford so much recklessness and impulsiveness.” _

_ “It's not! We're fine, stop worrying so much.” _

_ “Do I need to remind you who he is? This isn't going to work out, in any capacity. You're being foolish.”   _

_ “Stop, I've got this under control.” _

_ “...If you're sure.” _

_ “I am.” _

 

\--

 

Walking out of the fire station with Jace, Alec felt defeated. By the time they had re-combed through all the footage (not finding any recording with a clear view of the firefighters face) and figured out the guy had had to put the compression tanks back on the fire engine  _ and then  _ been able to work around the warrant situation at the fire station, everything had been gone. One tank had lain open by a window upstairs clearly having been just emptied. But whoever had emptied it of the coins was long gone. Alec had wanted to punch something. If only they had gotten there a little sooner, they might have recovered the coins or even caught the guy that did it.

“Tough luck,” Jace muttered as they walked out of the fire station toward the car. Nodding in agreement Alec looked around; the street was mostly empty, save for a man leaning on a wall a little ways away. He nudged Jace's shoulder.

“Hey, maybe that guy saw something,” he said, pointing at the man.

“Maybe,” Jace said half-heartedly “I guess we could ask him. Do you want to go ask while I wait by the car?” Jace asked, Alec agreed and began walking towards the man.

“Excuse me?” Alec said when he reached the man. The guy turned, and Alec froze for a moment, because this had got to be the most beautiful man he had ever seen. His hair was swooped upwards, his eyes an amazing green/gold combo that made Alec want to stare into them forever and the black eyeliner around them made them pop. His skin was tan and looked soft, while his lips...they were a rosy pink color that could  _ not _ have been natural. Alec continued to stare at the man until he was snapped out of his dazed reverie by the man's voice.

“Yes? Did you need something?”

“Oh, uhm, yes, I'm Special Agent Lightwood,” Alec scrambled in his jacket pocket to pull out ID, he showed the man his badge and continued, “I was just wondering if you had seen anything weird happen around the fire station in the last few minutes?”

The man tilted his head at Alec, “In the last few minutes you say? Has there been a robbery?”

“Well, uh, sort of?” Alec stammered out, “Did you see anything weird?”

The man shook his head, “I haven't seen anything interesting, other than the gorgeous man standing in front of me.”

Alec turned to look for said man, “Uh...”

“In case you were confused, I was talking about you,” the man said, fluttering his eyelashes at Alec. Alec froze, his brain short circuiting.

“Um, I-I don't...”

“I'm Magnus, what's your name?” the man, Magnus, held his hand out for Alec to shake, which he did, carefully. Magnus' hand was warm and soft when it enveloped Alec's, and he momentarily forgot to introduce himself.

“Um, Alec. Lightwood,” he responded belatedly.

“Is Alec short for anything, Alexander, perhaps?” Magnus asked while still holding Alec's hand.

“Yeah, it's short for Alexander but everyone calls me Alec,” Alec mumbled, finally Magnus took his hand back and Alec immediately missed the warmth.

“Well, Alec, would you like to go on a date with me?”

“O-on a what?” Alec sputtered in surprise, looking wide-eyed at Magnus.

“On a date, with me, you know we go get dinner, or a coffee, or something, and get to know each other?”

Alec stared at Magnus...who had just asked him out on a date...was this a joke? Alec glanced back at Jace, who was leaning against the car absently checking his phone. He had to admit, Magnus was attractive, captivatingly so, and he seemed like a nice enough guy but Alec had no idea what to do here, he wasn't usually the one that got propositioned so randomly, that was Jace and Isabelle's territory.

“Alec, come on!” he turned to see Jace, who was moving his hand in the ‘let’s wrap it up gesture,' Alec rolled his eyes and turned back to Magnus, who was still smiling flirtatiously.

“As it seems you have to go, I have only one question,” Magnus said, drawing Alec's attention back to where he was standing.

“Yeah?”

“Are you a flower or a cologne type man?” Magnus asked.

Alec's eyebrows furrowed, “Uh...what?”

“Do you like flowers or cologne? So I know what to get you for our date.”

“Oh, um, I don't, um,” Alec's eyes darted nervously, “I don't know?”

Magnus smiled brightly, “That's quite alright. I'll just have to find out, won't I?”

“Alec!” Alec turned back to Jace and tried to subtly say ‘back off’ but Jace just gestured to the car, clearly ready to go.

“Um, I really have to go but if you think you saw anything out of place around here, you can call me. I can give you my direct extension, uh, here, my card,” Alec fumbled his business card out of his wallet, choosing to ignore the whole ‘date’ debacle, Magnus couldn't be serious. He held out his business card.

Magnus smirked, “I'll be sure to call,” he said with a wink. He walks away, leaving Alec momentarily stunned until Jace shouts his name for a third time and he started moving towards him. 

He hurried over to where they had parked the car, his cheeks stained red.

“What was that?” Jace asked as they got in the car.

“N-nothing, just asking him if he had seen anything odd...”

“Uh-huh, I saw you give him your number, and you're blushing,” Jace stated as he started the car and pulled out, heading back towards the office.

“That was my business card!” Alec exclaimed defensively, “So he can call me if he remembers anything! And I'm not blushing!”

Jace just smirked, “How about a bet?”

Alec narrowed his eyes, “What kind of bet?”

“I'm betting he calls you, for non-work related reasons, and asks you out. If I win you get to do all my paperwork for the next month and vice versa.”

“Fine, you have yourself a deal.”

\--

Alec hadn't even been at the office for an hour when he lost the bet.

When his phone rang he had been filing some simple paperwork and was relieved for the moment of reprieve the phone offered him. Setting down his pen, he had grabbed the phone and answered.

“Lightwood,” was all he had said, which he would come to regret.

“Ooh, so official sounding,” came a teasing voice.

“Uh...yeah, who is this?” Alec said, caught off guard.

“It's Magnus, you know, from the deserted street corner?”

“Magnus? Did you remember something?” Alec asked, grabbing a pen and some paper, ready to take some notes.

But Magnus just laughed, “No, unfortunately the only thing I can remember happening is meeting a devastatingly handsome man, who I asked out on a date, and he never responded.”

“Oh, um...I...” Alec was out of words, “I don't know what you mean?” he said uncertainly.

“Alec, what I mean is I find you very attractive and you seem very interesting. So I would like to take you on a date, in which I could get to know you better. Now, do you feel the same?” Magnus’ voice was gentle, and Alec could feel his face flame.

“Uh, well, I-I do find you, uh, very attractive, also...”

“Fantastic! Would you like to go for a drink sometime?”

Alec bit his lip, and glanced around, “I...That sounds fun...when?”

“How about right now?”

“I can't right now, I'm on duty?” Alec muttered, Jace was starting to look at him like he knew what was going on, and Alec's face got even more red.

“Ah, when do you get off duty?” Magnus asked.

Alec looked at his watch, “Um, in about 2 hours?”

“Is that a question, or an answer?” Magnus teased.

“An answer, sorry.”

“No need for apologies, darling, I'll meet you at this lovely little bar I know. Would you like me to text you the address?” Magnus said, his voice once again gaining that smooth, comforting quality.

“Uh, yeah, sure, that'd be great...”

“I'm going to need your cell number for that though ...”

Alec had a feeling this had been the goal all along, “Of course you are, um, are you ready?”

“Ooh, I'm ready for a lot of things, Alexander,” Magnus purred.

“Um...right, here goes,” Alec rattled off his number, as quietly and inconspicuously as he could, but it was useless because he looked up and saw Jace smirking at him. He glared back as he finished.

“That's great! Alright, I'll text you the details and I'll see you tonight.”

Alec's cheeks were probably going to be stained a permanent red at this point, “Okay,” he mumbled, “See you tonight.”

“Bye, Alexander,” Magnus said, and he hung up. Alec slowly lowered the phone and Jace wandered over, a stack of files in his hands.

“I told you,” was all he said as he dropped the files in Alec's inbox. Alec scowled at him and Jace just laughed, “Hope your face doesn't freeze like that, it'd be unfortunate if it looked like that for your date.”

Alec just scowled harder and turned grumpily to the stack of files he now had to complete.

\--

As Alec got ready to leave for the bar his cell phone rang, he glanced at it curiously, realizing it was Isabelle, he answered the call, “Hey, Iz, what's up?”

“You have a date?!” Was the first thing she said, Alec winced.

“Um, yeah, I guess, why?”

“Why?  _ Why _ ? Alec, this is important information for your sister to know.”

Alec frowned, “No, it's not...”

“It is when the brother hasn't been on a date in years, not since…well, a long time,” Isabelle cut herself off and Alec rolled his eyes.

“Not since Sebastian, I know, Iz, and I'm fine, really, it's not even a big deal. It's just drinks and we don’t even know each other.”

“Well, if you say so, but it is a big deal and I'm proud of you. So…what are you wearing?”

Alec looked down at himself, “Uh...my suit?”

“Your suit,” Isabelle said flatly.

“Yeah, and before you say anything I don't have time to go home and change, much less have you come over and try to pick what I'm wearing.”

Isabelle gave a long suffering sigh, “Please tell me it's the good one?”

Alec smiled, “Actually it's the one you bought me, with the blue shirt and black slacks.”

Isabelle laughed, “That  _ is _ the good one, now, listen carefully, take off the tie, don't untuck your shirt, roll up the sleeves, and unbutton two buttons from the top.”

Alec did as she told and thanked her before telling her he really had to go or he'd be late. He started toward the bar. It was a quick walk and it was easier to just leave the car for Jace to take home than it would be to take Jace home and drive back.

Arriving at the bar, Alec took a hesitant step inside. The place was dimly lit with dark mahogany wood and dark blue and burgundy cushions. The whole place screamed sophistication, making Alec shift a little. He glanced around and spotted Magnus easily, making his breath catch in his throat when he saw him. He was wearing a silky, dark green shirt with a plunging neckline, his neck decorated with necklaces. His hair was once again styled up but with  a few blonde highlights, his eyes surrounded by black kohl. In short, he was beautiful.

Alec headed over and when Magnus saw him he smiled brightly, which only made him even more stunning, which caused Alec to lose his breath all over again.

“Hey,” Alec greeted lamely, a blush warming his cheeks.

“Hi, Alec, I took the liberty of ordering you a beer, if that's okay?” Magnus greeted, smiling at Alec.

“Oh, am I late? Sorry, my sister called before, so--”

“Alec,” Magnus laughed, “It's fine, you aren't late.”

Biting his lip, Alec blushed, “Oh, um, okay. So, uh, how was your day?”

“My day was great. I met a cute boy and got a date with said cute boy,” Magnus winked at Alec, whose blush intensified, “But, overall, yes, I had a very good day. I hung out with my good friend, Raphael, for a bit, got some work done, you know, the usual.”

“What do you do?” Alec asked, as the waiter arrived with their drinks. Magnus had ordered a craft beer from a local brewery for Alec and a glass of wine for himself.

“I do some freelance, actually,” Magnus answers vaguely, taking a sip of his wine.

Nodding, along,  Alec took a sip of his beer, it was bitter but the good kind of bitter. He was about to ask more about Magnus’ job, but Magnus started speaking before he could.

“Do you like it?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah, it's really good,” Alec said, taking another sip. He didn't know what to say but he wasn't as uncomfortable as he normally was. Magnus had a calming air about him that put Alec to ease.

Magnus smiled at him gently, his eyes twinkling, “Good, I'm glad. So, you're an FBI agent, tell me what that's like.”

“Well, it's mostly just paperwork, to be honest,” Alec huffed a laugh, “and a lot mortgage frauds, which are incredibly dull, but usually pretty easy to solve especially if you establish a pattern. Sometimes we get the good cases, like the one today...” Alec trailed off.

“What happened today?” Magnus asked, curiously.

“I don't want to bore you with my work talk, Izzy always says I talk about work too much,” Alec admitted.

Reaching out Magnus touched Alec's hand that lay on the table, “I can assure you, you aren't boring me.”

Biting his lip, Alec nodded and explained to Magnus, briefly because it was still an open investigation, what had happened. He found himself expanding from work life to friends and with prompting from Magnus, he told him about Jace and his incredible recklessness, how Jace had been one of the reasons he decided to be an FBI agent, to help keep Jace safe. He told Magnus about Isabelle, his genius of a sister who was an amazing medical examiner for the FBI, and her boyfriend, Simon. He even mentions Max, though briefly, only telling Magnus about Max’s love for manga and superheros.

“So three out of the four siblings went to the FBI?” Magnus questions, sounding a little incredulous.

Alec shrugged, “Yeah, it was a bit weird, but not really, we've always been super close, even as kids. So when we all ended up in the same place, it wasn't all that surprising.”

“Who are the others on your team? Besides Jace.”

“Um, Aline Penhallow and Lydia Branwell, who I went to Quantico with and we've been with each other since, she's one of my best friends.”

“Outside of your siblings?”

“I guess, although she is friends with all of us and Jace's girlfriend, Clary, and Izzy's on again off again boyfriend Simon.”

“Okay, explain that to me, they sound great together,” Magnus said as the waitress brought another round of drinks.

Alec laughed, over the past hour he's been sitting with Magnus, he'd loosened up a lot, with a little help from the alcohol, “They are perfect for each other, we all know it, they know it, Izzy just...she's got commitment issues. Our parents' marriage was really rough for a while, still is, and Iz, well, she took it the hardest. They'd fight a lot, but they never...they never would even think about getting a divorce, because of us, Izzy, Jace and I, and then Max came, and…yeah. So they fought a lot and I think Isabelle doesn't ever want to be in that situation, where she's in a miserable marriage but can't leave because of the kids. She's terrified of becoming our parents...” Alec trailed off, “Sorry, that's not exactly a fun conversation topic.”

Magnus shook his head, “No, it's fine. I like learning about you, about your life. It's...refreshing to hear how much you care for your sister, for your family, not to mention admirable.”

Alec blushed, “Enough about me, what about you?”

“Oh, now, that is where you are wrong, Alexander, I can never have enough of you,” Magnus said with a lavish wink, “But, as you wish, what would you like to know?”

“Anything, everything,” Alec replied, propping his chin on his hand, “Where are you from, where did you grow up, what languages do you speak, what are your hobbies? Everything.”

“That's quite the list, we might not make it through.”

“That just means we'll need another date,” Alec said, smirking, even though he was blushing.

“My, my,” Magnus laughed, “Where did this confident man come from? Asking for a second date when we haven't finished the first!”

Alec huffed a laugh, and shrugged, “I like you and you’re easy to talk to, now, answer one of my questions, please?” It was quite possible that the beer might have been affecting Alec’s better judgement, but he didn’t care, if it made Magnus laugh like that.

Smiling, Magnus said, “Bossy, bossy, but as you wish, darling. I'm originally from Indonesia. I grew up there until I was six and I moved here, so I speak Indonesian and English fluently. I also know a little French because I took it in high school and fell in love with it...”

Magnus and Alec continued to talk until the bar got too crowded and Alec checked his watch, it was well past eleven and he really needed to get home.

“It's late,” Magnus said, as though reading his mind, “We should probably head out.”

Feeling a bit of disappointment twist in his gut, Alec nodded, “Did you walk here?” he asked as gathered his things.

“I did, did you?”

“Yeah, Jace took the car, but I'll walk you home?” Alec offered, hesitantly.

When Magnus smiled, there was almost something fond at the corners, “That would be lovely, thank you.”

Alec shrugged, “Of course.”

Saying no more, the pair set out. It was a nice evening, the air was warm but a gentle breeze was blowing through with just a hint of fall. The conversation flowed as easily as it had in the bar and their hands were brushing every once in a while, causing tingles to race up Alec's arm. Finally about halfway through the walk Magnus curled his hand around Alec's, lacing their fingers together. Alec's breath stuttered out and he peeked at Magnus out of the corner of his eye. Magnus made no indication that there was anything out of the ordinary as he continued to talk. Alec smiled a small, private smile.

When they reached Magnus' building Alec turned towards him, “I...had a really good time tonight,” he admitted quietly, scuffing his toe on the asphalt.

“I did to,” Magnus murmured, “Would you...like to do it again sometime?”

Alec blushed slightly, “Yeah, I--that'd be great...I'll call you?”

“You'd better,” Magnus teased.

On a whim Alec leaned forward and kissed Magnus. He felt Magnus jump a little and then start to return the kiss. His lips were soft against Alec’s. Magnus twined his arms around Alec’s neck and rose onto his toes. Alec pulled him closer using his grip on Magnus' waist. They kissed for a few more minutes before Alec felt his blush returning full force, taking a step back from Magnus.

“I'll call you,” Alec repeated, more firmly this time.

“I'll be waiting...Goodbye, Alexander.”

\---

Alec did call Magnus, he called the next day, actually, and they arranged their second date, a dinner date this time at a lovely little Italian place Helen had recommended.

The second date went as well as the first and Alec found himself once again walking Magnus home, hoping that the walk wouldn't end.

“I can't believe you haven't seen any of the Marvel movies!” Magnus laughed in disbelief.

Alec shrugged, “I don't really have a lot of time to watch movies, it's mostly just work.”

“This is a tragedy that I will need to remedy immediately; in fact I think I've figured out what we're doing for our third date.”

“Who says you're getting a third date?” Alec teased. Since their first date Alec had decided to make an effort to get more comfortable around Magnus, letting the sharp comebacks that he had been keeping to himself come out.

“Cheeky!” Magnus laughed delightedly, pleased when Alec teased him back, and encouraged it even.

Alec knocked their shoulders together and Magnus grabbed his hand. “If that's what you want to do for our third date, then so be it, I will suffer through,” Alec responded.

Magnus just smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

 

Their third date (which had indeed been a Marvel movie marathon, though whether or not either of them had been paying attention to the movies was debatable) turned into a fourth and then a fifth, and so on and so forth. Alec and Magnus spent a lot of time together in the months that followed, they went on dates and hung out. Magnus surprised Alec at work, a lot, though Alec was careful to keep him away from his friends. He knew they could be overwhelming and he wanted to spare Magnus from that hurdle, for now. Day by day Alec felt his feelings for Magnus grow like a warm ball of energy in his chest. He knew whenever he saw Magnus that his face grew into a huge smile (Jace had been the first to point it out, and had consequently not stopped making fun of Alec since), his heart fluttered, and his breath always caught in his throat. He knew what that meant but he tried to ignore it, as it was far too early and rushing into things never did anyone any good. It had been going on for about four months until Isabelle finally put her foot down.

“Alec, it's high time you introduced your family and friends to Magnus, don't you think?” she had asked one day, when her, Alec, Jace, Simon, Clary, and Lydia had all been hanging out.

“Yeah, I want to meet the man that has managed to bring our dear Alec out of his shell,” Clary had teased. The rest had all agreed and wore Alec down until he had agreed to invite Magnus to one of their bi-weekly dinners, with only two conditions. One being that they didn't interrogate Magnus and two, that Isabelle didn't cook. Isabelle was righteously offended by this and refused to talk to Alec for a full hour, “You always said you  _ liked _ my cooking,” she had sniffed after she started talking to him again.

He was almost regretting it now, wishing that he could keep Magnus to himself for just a little longer. They were walking up to Clary and Jace's apartment, Alec trying to compose himself, while Magnus watched on, amused.

“I don't get why you aren't nervous...” Alec muttered.

“Who says I'm not nervous? Plus you told me not to be nervous,” Magnus countered.

Having no response, Alec turned towards the door and knocked. It wasn't like he thought his friends wouldn't like Magnus, he was just...nervous about how they would act around him and what they would tell him about Alec.

“Come in,” he heard Clary call. He grasped Magnus' hand and led him into the apartment.

“We're in the living room,” Alec heard Clary call out.

“Are you ready?” he asked Magnus quietly.

Smiling, Magnus brushed his knuckles along Alec's cheek, “I am, darling, are you?”

Blushing, Alec had mumbled an affirmative and led Magnus into the living room where everyone was. Jace was sitting on the couch next to Clary who was sitting next to Simon and Isabelle while Lydia and Aline sat in the two armchairs, Helen on Aline's lap.  

Isabelle stood up, smiling, and walking over to where Magnus and Alec had just entered the room, “Hi, you must be Magnus. I'm Isabelle.”

“Ah, so you are the sister. I have heard so much about you,” Magnus said, reaching out a hand for Isabelle to shake.

“Only good things, I hope, for Alec’s sake,” Isabelle teased, shaking Magnus’ hand.

Magnus laughed, “Of course.”

Alec moved forward, resting a hand on Magnus’ back, “As she already said, that's Isabelle, and that’s Simon, Jace, Clary, Aline, Helen and Lydia,” Alec introduced, pointing to each as he said their name, “Everyone, this is Magnus.”

They all said ‘hello’ and Alec and Magnus sat next to each other on the loveseat. Isabelle sat back down next to Simon who wrapped an arm around her. They must be on again, Alec noted absently.

“So, Magnus, Alec hasn't been very forthcoming about you. Tell us about yourself,” Isabelle said.

Alec glared at her, “That's not true.”

But Magnus just laughed, touching Alec's shoulder soothingly, “I'm sure you were, darling. Now, to answer your question, Isabelle, there isn't much to tell.”

“Oh, but there is! What do you do? What are your interests, your hobbies--”

“Isabelle, come on, you said this wasn't going to be an interrogation,” Alec snapped, shifting forward to block Magnus from his sister a bit and resting a reassuring hand on Magnus' knee.

Isabelle, slightly taken aback at Alec’s sudden protective posture, leaned back into Simon, “I know, it's just...you've hardly told us anything...”

Magnus leaned forward, and whispered in Alec’s ear, “Relax, love, your sister is just curious,” he turned his head to look at Isabelle, “I am a bit of a freelancer, as of yet, and I enjoy many things, art being one of them--”

“Really?” Clary asked, moving to the edge of the couch and effectively knocking Jace off her, who looked a little disgruntled “What kind of art do you do?”

Magnus waved a hand dismissively “Oh, a little of everything. I find myself liking the freedom of choice although I have been told painting is my strongest area.”

Clary nods thoughtfully, “I paint a little. I'm more of a sketcher, though, Simon and I wrote a graphic novel a while ago...”

Simon laughed, “It was great, whatever happened to that?”

“I don't know, I think we forgot about it once I started law school,” Clary shrugged, settling back into Jace's side.

“Oh, you went to law school, what do you do?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah, I'm the District Attorney, actually, just got promoted from Assistant District Attorney a year and a half ago.”

“So, you're all involved in the law somehow?” When Alec glanced at Magnus he noticed a tense line to his shoulders that hadn't been there before. Resting a hand on his back Alec ran his knuckles up and down his spine, in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

Aline shrugged, “I guess, we've never really thought about it, but Alec, Lydia, Jace, and I are all one the same team for the FBI, Izzy is a Medical Examiner's for the FBI--”

“One of the best,” Isabelle interrupted with a wink.

“--Simon works in the lab, doing the forensic stuff. He's got like five specialties by now--”

Simon shrugged, “School’s fun, alright, fight me.”

“And Clary is the DA, so yeah, I guess we all do…well, except for Helen, she's a chef,” Aline finished, smiling at her girlfriend fondly.

“Talk about interconnected,” Magnus laughed breathlessly, the tenseness in his shoulders not dissipating.

Lydia shrugged, “We've never really noticed before, it's not like we all conspire together about our jobs, we just do them and we meet people involved in the case...it sort of just happens.”

Magnus nodded, his shoulders only relaxing minutely, “I guess that makes sense, it's just a little overwhelming.”

Jace laughed, “Well, we still need a reason to arrest you and the only reason we would arrest you is if you hurt Alec,” the playful tone of voice fading at the end and Jace pinned Magnus with a stern look.

“Jace!” Alec said, horrified, blushing a deep red.

“Well, that's a relief, as I have no plans to do that, ever,” Magnus said, brushing Alec's hair from his forehead.

Alec felt his cheeks get even redder and was saved answering by the timer going off in the other room.

“Oh, that'll mean dinner is ready!” Clary said excitedly, moving to get up.

Jace grabbed her arm, “You are not allowed anywhere near my creation.”

The rest laughed while Clary pouted, “I'm fine in the kitchen, not as bad as Izzy.”

“Hey!” Isabelle shouted indignantly, “Alec loves my food!”

Alec ducked his head and coughed into his fist, pointedly not looking at Isabelle.

Jace snorted as he left the room to get dinner, “That's only because he doesn't want to hurt your feelings.”

“Alec, that's not true. Tell him that's not true,” Isabelle said, turning to him.

“I...your meals are fine...”

“Such a coward,” reprimanded Aline, “Isabelle we love you but you can't cook.”

“You guys just don't understand my genius. I'm sure Helen has faced harsh critics on her food.”

Helen laughed, “Isabelle, I think you're forgetting that Jace, Aline, and I have all tried to give you cooking lessons and you remain set on setting fires instead of cooking.”

The evening continued in a similar manner. Everyone seemed to like Magnus and Alec, while he had told Magnus earlier he wasn't worried about that, was relieved. The conversation flowed easily and dinner was delicious. It seemed like Magnus would be a perfect addition to their group.

\---

_ “The Mosconi Codex, can you believe it?” _

_ “I’d always heard rumors, but nothing I thought was true.” _

_ “It’s said to hold the ‘greatest wealth’ in the universe.” _

_ “That’s what they all say. I’ll believe it when I see it.” _

_ “But you’re still gonna help me, right?”  _

_ “Of course.” _

\---

 

It was only a month later that things started to fall apart. Everything had been going great, Alec and Magnus were going out regularly, they were spending nights at each other's places, Alec was really happy about most of it. But...he couldn't help but notice that Magnus barely talked about himself. Alec only had the basic understanding of what he did and he knew that whatever kind of ‘freelance’ Magnus did, it was as unpredictable as Alec's job (and that was saying something). Alec had never met any of Magnus' friends except for one, Catarina Loss, who was a defense attorney, and even that had been a brief meeting. Magnus had mentioned a Raphael a number of times but when Alec asked about him Magnus brushed over it.

It was starting to grate on Alec's nerves. He was being honest with Magnus and had hoped that maybe, as the months progressed, Magnus would come out of his shell a bit but it was becoming very apparent that it wasn't going to happen.

It all came to a head one day when Magnus surprised Alec with lunch. Alec hadn't been planning on taking a lunch, well not a formal one anyway, and was just starting to get started on a report when Magnus swept into the room.

“Magnus!” Alec greeted, a delighted, but a bit startled, smile overtaking his face, “What are you doing here? I thought you had work?”

Waving a hand, Magnus smiled, “A little birdie told me you weren't having lunch and I can't have my lovely boyfriend starve to death, can I?”

Alec set down his pen, and stood to greet Magnus with a kiss, “I guess that's understandable, but you said you had work stuff do during lunch?” Alec asked again, voice firm and unwilling to let it go.

“Oh, it was cancelled,” Magnus answered, brushing it off with another dismissive wave, “I brought takeout from that Mexican place you like, do you want to go on the roof and eat?”

A little annoyed at the dismissal, Alec tried to let it go, now really wasn't the time, “Sure, let me just close this stuff up.” He slipped the file on his desk closed and logged off of his computer, grabbing his jacket and phone he turned to face Magnus, “Ready.”

“Excellent, darling, off we go,” Magnus said, and he offered his arm to Alec, who rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's cheesiness but looped his arm through nonetheless.

Of course that wasn't the end of it.  Throughout lunch Alec noticed that whenever he questioned something about Magnus' job or personal life he brushed it off, choosing to refocus the conversation onto Alec. It all happened so smoothly, Alec barely noticed until he started paying attention.

Alec huffed, and stabbed at his rice. “Is something wrong? You seem a little... distracted,” Magnus asked, his brow furrowed.

“I--” but Alec stopped, he couldn't get into this here. It wasn't the time or the place to have what he was sure would be a big argument. “No, nothing, just...a case that is bugging me...”

“Oh, do you need to get back to work?” Magnus asked, Alec could tell that Magnus was skeptical but he had offered an out, an out that Alec desperately wanted.

“Um, well, I mean...” he stuttered, using his normal ineloquence to his advantage for once.

“If you need to go, Alexander, you can. I won't be offended...” Magnus reassured, his hand grabbing Alec's over the table and the feeling of guilt grew in Alec's chest.

“I...I'm sorry,” he muttered, “I just...”

“No need for apologies, darling, I know what I signed up for. You're an FBI agent after all, the criminals don't rest and neither do you.”

“But that doesn't mean I shouldn't make time for my boyfriend...” Alec said, the feeling of guilt multiplying. 

Magnus shook his head, “It's quite alright, you make plenty of time. Are you still coming over tonight?”

Alec nodded, as he started to clean up, “Yeah, if it's alright with you?”

“Of course, sweetheart, any time.”

Alec tried to smile and pecked Magnus on the cheek, “I'll see you later and I'm really sorry, again.”

“As I have already told you, there is no need for apologies. I look forward to seeing you tonight.”

When they parted Alec went back to his desk to work on his report.

“That was a quick lunch,” Lydia said across from him.

“What?”

She shrugged, “It's just when you take lunch with Magnus it's a little longer than--” she checked her watch, “Twenty minutes.”

“Oh. Yeah, I...couldn't focus,” Alec muttered lamely. She looked at him skeptically but dropped it, which Alec was eternally thankful for. He could barely articulate his problems to himself, let alone another person...well that wasn't entirely true. He knew what was bothering him, he just wasn't sure he could explain it to Lydia. He wanted to know more about Magnus, and his life before Alec, and even his life with Alec. He didn't think that that was something he shouldn't want.

Alec sighed and got to work on his report. The only thing left to do was talk to Magnus about it because Alec couldn't fix the issue by himself and everyone always said communication is key in any relationship. Deciding to talk to Magnus about it when he got over there in the evening, Alec refocused on his report.

Time passed way too quickly after Alec decided what to do and by the time he realized what time it was, it was only him and Lydia left in the office and even she was packing up.

“Oh, crap! I've got to go,” Alec said, hurriedly scanning the clock. He could still get to Magnus' on time if he left then. Grabbing his things, he shut everything down and hurried to the elevator after Lydia.

“You know, you can talk to me about relationship stuff. It's not like I'm going to break down into tears,” Lydia said as they rode the elevator down together.

“I know you won't burst into tears,” Alec replied, minorly offended, “I just...don't really like talking about that stuff and I'm not...ready to talk about it yet. I have to talk about it with Magnus first.”

“Okay, as long as you know you can talk to me about it,” Lydia smiled at him as they exited the office and prepared to separate.

“I know...hey, why don't you and I get lunch or dinner sometime this week?” Alec offered.

“Yeah, that sounds great. We can talk about it tomorrow?”

Alec nodded and Lydia headed off. Sighing, he walked towards Magnus' building, making sure to keep a solid pace not wanting to be late.

He got to Magnus' right on time and when he knocked on the door, he heard Magnus moving around quickly before the door swung open. Magnus looked...winded, his hair wild and all over the place, clothes crooked, and breathing harder than normal.

“Alexander! You're on time!” He said, clearly surprised.

His eyebrows furrowing, Alec said, “Yeah, I try to be...are you okay?”

“Oh, of course, you know, just running around taking care of some things. You know how it is, I'm sure...”

“Right...things,” Alec mumbled as he walked past Magnus into the apartment.

“What, no hello kiss?” Magnus asked playfully, ignoring Alec's last statement.

Alec bit his lip, walking into the living room and sitting on the couch. Magnus joined him a second later, looking concerned.

“Is everything okay, Alec, you've been acting oddly...”

“I---I think we need to talk, Magnus...” Alec started, wincing, it sounded like he wanted to break up and apparently Magnus thought that too, his posture stiffening and becoming more defensive.

“About what?” he asked cautiously.

“Look...I like you a lot and I...I really want this to work...but it's-I,” Alec paused, his words starting to stumble together. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, “I don't know anything about you, Magnus and it's taken me forever to realize it, hell, I don't even know what your job is--”

“I'm a f--”

“A freelancer, yes, but what kind? It doesn't even matter. The things I know about you can fit on one hand. What I don't know about you can't even fit on two hands, can you see the problem?”

“No, not really,” Magnus answered, his posture was still stiff as a board.

“How can you not? You're supposed to be my boyfriend and I barely know the basics about your past, or your present, yet you know mine. Of course that's a problem.”

“The past is the past, Alec. I like to look forward not backward, you should know this.”

“But I don't even know your present, Magnus, and that's a problem. I want to know your past, your present, and your future.”

“My past isn't really important, Alec,” Magnus said, his voice sharp.

“I don't think you're listening to me, I think it is important and I don't want to have a one sided relationship. I don't need that kind of relationship, I've had enough of those!” Alec was starting to get worked up now.

“Just because I don't want to talk about my childhood does not mean your feelings are one sided, Alec!”

Alec tried to take a deep breath, tried to center himself, tried to remind himself that Magnus wasn't Sebastian, he wasn't Jace, “I know you may believe that,” he said slowly, carefully, he started to stand, “But to me, that is what it feels like, and I can't turn this off. I cannot be in a relationship where my supposed partner is not willing to share anything significant about his past.”

“Who says my past is significant?” Magnus snapped, his voice rising.

“I do! I do, Magnus, the past shaped who you are now and I want to know who you were then and now and who you'll become...I want to know, but if you won't let me know...then...I guess we have nothing more to discuss,” Alec said, gravely.

“I guess we don't,” Magnus sneered, and the words hit Alec like a gavel being banged down in a courtroom.

Nodding stiffly, Alec turned and walked out the door. It all felt very final but he had meant what he said, if Magnus wasn't willing to open up to Alec then there was nothing more Alec could do, even though he wanted to so desperately.

It felt like the end and Alec had never wanted anything less.

 

The next morning Alec woke up and got ready for work in a daze, it felt surreal, like last night hadn't happened. Were they broken up? Alec certainly didn't want to be. But if Magnus refused to even try and share about himself...well Alec wasn't getting himself in that situation again. Deciding to put the matter from his mind for the day, Alec headed out to meet Jace.

Stepping into the car he said ‘hello’ and started to check his emails.

“You alright, bro?” Jace asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing...you just seem off.”

Alec shrugged, “I'm fine.”

“If you're sure,” Jace said, reaching for the radio. A newscaster came on, prattling on about the traffic and Alec rolled his eyes and tuned out. Thinking about the cases he had to work on. There had been a lull on his active cases...well ones that took more than a day and had an actual crime scene. Unfortunately for him, mortgage frauds were still a thing.

As Jace parked the car and they made their way up to the office Alec felt Jace's eyes on him more than once.

“Jace, I'm fine. Stop looking at me like that!” he snapped, after he felt Jace's eyes on him for the third time.

“Sorry, it's just...you're really quiet. You didn't even complain when I turned the news on this morning and you hate listening to the news, which come to think of it is really weird---but that's beside the point.”

“Magnus and I had a...disagreement last night and I'd rather not talk about it, alright?” Alec said, shooting Jace a look.

Jace's eyebrows furrowed, “I'm sorry to hear that, are you guys gonna be okay?”

“I don't know, it was a pretty bad fight but we can still work it out...for now let's just get to work.”

‘Get to work’ was easier said than done however, Alec found it hard to focus and he kept getting distracted by thoughts of Magnus. When Lydia stopped by his desk to ask if he wanted to get lunch with her and Aline, he was relieved.

“Yeah, that'd be great. We going to Helen's?” he asked, standing and meandering after them.

“Yeah, she's cooking the lunch shift. Thought we'd all stop in and compliment the chef,” Aline said, with a wink.

“Is Jace not coming?” Alec wondered.

“Nope, lunch date with Clary,” Lydia explained, “It's just us.”

“Cool,” Alec said with a small grin and Aline returned his smile. Throwing an arm over Lydia's shoulders, she looped her arm through Alec's and they set off towards Aline's car.

Aline and Lydia chatted happily as they drove, Alec pitching in once in awhile, but he mostly just listened and stared out the window. They finally reached to restaurant and Aline parked and they started to walk in.

“What I want to know is why you--” Aline jabbed him in the chest--”Are so mopey.”

Alec shrugged, he might as well get it over with, “Magnus and I had a fight last night,” he mumbled.

“Ah, well, what was it about?” Aline sitting at the table the hostess had led them to.

“Nothing...something stupid,” Alec waved it off, “I might talk about it later but...right now let's just eat.”

Aline shrugged and Lydia looked at him appraisingly but otherwise they shifted the topic of conversation. Alec once again found himself thanking the universe for giving him such amazing friends. Alec tried to put more of an effort into participating in the conversation and after he found he felt a little better.

When they finished their meal, Aline asked if it'd be okay if she stayed behind and talk to Helen. Alec and Lydia said they'd be fine walking back, it was New York after all.

Setting off the first few minutes were quiet before Alec broke it, “Did John...did he ever not share anything with you that you thought was important?”

Lydia peeked over at him, “What do you mean, Alec? Don't beat around the bush.”

“Fine,” he sighed, most of the time he appreciated Lydia's straight forwardness but he wished she would've let him be vague about the whole thing, “I realized yesterday that I know almost know nothing about Magnus. I mean nothing about his past, barely anything about his friends, the bare minimum about his job...and when I brought it up to him, he was angry. He didn't think that that stuff was important and I thought it was, obviously. So we argued, and I...left. And I just...I want to know those things, it's going to start feeling way too similar to Sebastian if I just keep going on not knowing anything ... _ real _ about him.”

Lydia took a moment to gather her thoughts, “I...get that him holding back information reminds you of Sebastian but remember Sebastian, he was just using you. He wasn't sharing because he just didn't  _ care _ , you were a means to an end for him. After seeing you and Magnus...I don't think it's because he doesn't care.”

“I barely know anything about him Lydia, at least with Sebastian I knew what he did, who his family was. Magnus...I barely know his favorite color is purple.”

“At least he isn't lying and pretending. You have to remember that Sebastian was lying almost 24/7 around you. And you never know, maybe those small insignificant things he told you about himself, like that his favorite color was purple, were big significant things to him.”

Alec snorted softly, “Maybe...but I want to know everything. I really like him, Lydia, like it could be heading towards something big...”

“Then you need to be honest with him, Alec. Tell him how you feel and what needs to happen for you. Open and honest communication is the key to any relationship,” Lydia said, putting her hand on Alec's arm.

Alec sucked in a breath and blew it out, “I guess you're right.”

“Of course I am, I'm almost always right.” She looked at him appraisingly, “It'll be fine, Alec.”

“Yeah, yeah, you're right it will be.”

\---

It took Alec about four days to gather up the courage to actually go and see Magnus. Four days spent with Lydia giving him pointed looks and Jace staring at him critically. And now he was here, frozen outside the door, listening to raised voices.

“What are you even doing, Magnus?”

“It's nothing, leave it alone!”

“I can't leave it alone! What you're doing could destroy the whole plan. You are risking everything we've worked for on a fling!”

“It's not just a fling! You don't understand, Raphael!”

“Just...remember what's on the line, Magnus. It's not just you.” There was a pause, “I think going now, I'll see myself out, thanks for the wine.”

“Not that you asked for it,” Alec heard Magnus mutter. Hearing approaching footsteps, Alec quickly hurried into the stairwell and waited for the man to take the elevator down.

His heart was racing. What had he just witnessed? Whatever it was, it sounded weird. What ‘plan’ was that guy talking about? Was it something to do with Magnus' job? Or was it something more sinister? Alec refused to believe Magnus would do something illegal while dating an FBI agent...but that guy had acted weird, talking about risking everything they worked for on what he had called a ‘fling.’ It hadn't sounded like Magnus was completely on board though, he had seemed a little reluctant...was this guy, Raphael, coercing him in some way? Maybe he should investigate this Raphael, make sure he wasn't bad news?

Once Alec got his breathing under control, he stepped back out into the hallway and moved towards Magnus' door. He knocked and a minute later the door swung open.

“Alec,” Magnus said, clearly surprised.

Alec shuffled his feet nervously, “Sorry, for just, uh, showing up but I thought we could talk?”

Magnus smiled gently, “Of course, come in,” he said stepping aside to let Alec in, he shut the door, and they stood in the entryway for a  minute before Magnus cleared his throat and said, “Well would you like a drink then we could go sit in the living room?”

“Uh, yeah, sure, l-let's do that,” Alec mumbled, cursing his ineloquence.

“What would you like?”

Alec trailed after Magnus as he made his way into the kitchen, “Just...some water?”

“Are you sure? I have that beer you like?”

“I can't, I'm on duty,” Alec explained.

“Very well, one water coming right up,” Magnus smiled again and turned to grab a glass. Alec glanced around and saw a half empty wine glass on the table and an empty one standing by the sink.

“Here you are, now to the living room?” Alec's eyes snapped back to Magnus and he accepted the water.

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

They moved into the living room, Alec sat on the edge of the couch, his elbows on his knees, Magnus sat next to him, one leg bent so he was facing Alec, he held the wine glass in one hand, chin in the other.

“Well?” Magnus prompted.

Alec bit his lip, Lydia had said to be honest...“I like you, a lot, like in a I'm sort of falling in love with you way...but I...it can't be one sided and it feels that way to me. I know you said that the ‘past is the past’ and all that but...it's not to me, that's what shaped you into... _ you _ and I want to know you but if you aren't willing to at least try, then there isn't much I can offer you,” Alec paused to take a breath,  _ be honest _ , “And I get that it might be hard for you, I understand you wanting to move slowly but I need to know that you will at least try to open up, at some point, and be honest with me because...I'm being honest.”

When Alec finished his monologue Magnus' faced had twisted into an unreadable expression, “Alec, I...First I want to apologize for the other night, you...caught me off guard and as a result I acted rashly. It was not my intention to be so harsh,” Magnus sighed and set his wineglass on the table, “That being said, this, us, is  _ not _ one sided. I like you too, a lot, and after thinking about it, I can understand how my...unwillingness to share has come across as me not...wanting to be with you like you wanted, but I can assure you that I want all of this, and I...I want to share myself with you...however, there are parts of my past, parts of  _ me _ that you...that are difficult to explain and will be difficult for you to hear...”

Finally feeling a little more at ease, Alec reached forward and grabbed Magnus' hand, “I get that now and I know I may have over analyzed but...it's okay, you can tell me anything...I'm not going to run, Magnus, I'm here.”

Magnus' face twisted back into that unreadable expression from before and he gripped Alec's fingers in a death grip, blinking rapidly, as if holding back tears, “Okay, okay, I---I'll try, I promise, I want us to work and I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise.”

Alec, feeling out of his depth, pulled Magnus into him, trying to offer him comfort, tucking his head underneath his chin, “Thank you and it's okay, I get that I surprised you. Of course your defenses would go up, mine definitely would,” he murmured into Magnus' hair, sliding down the couch he wrapped his arms more securely around Magnus.

An hour later found Magnus asleep, still curled on Alec's chest, while Alec debated what to do. He wanted to trust Magnus, he really had no reason not to especially after this. But it was the man Magnus had been talking to he didn't trust. Alec wanted to believe that Magnus just had a slightly unsavory friend and that it had nothing to do with Magnus. But still, he thought maybe he should at least check this guy out. He  _ had _ sounded like he had been bothering Magnus after all.

A shrill ring interrupts Alec's thoughts and he jerks in surprise, fumbling quickly for his phone.

“Lightwood,” he answers, trying to muffle any noise as not to wake Magnus. Listening carefully Alec nods, “Okay, I'll be there in twenty.”

He carefully disentangles himself from Magnus, lays his head on a throw pillow gently and covers him in a blanket. He grabs a piece of paper and writes a quick note:

_ Magnus, I got called in and I didn't want to wake you. I'll call you later. _

_-Alec_

As he walks closer to the door, he spots the empty wine glass standing of the sink. This might be his only chance. He sighs, glances back at Magnus' sleeping form and heads over to his bag. Rifling through it, he finds an errant evidence bag and a set of latex gloves. Stealthily, he moves into the kitchen and places the empty wine glass in the evidence bag. He finds another wine glass to replace the one he had stolen from next to the sink and carefully slips out of the door.

A few days pass and Alec leaves the wine glass with the mystery man's print in his safe at home contemplating what to do with it. He could easily ask Simon for a favor and have him run the print quietly but it still feels like he is betraying Magnus' trust, no matter how much he tries to justify it.

Unable to make a decision, Alec leaves the wine glass where it is.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Alarms blared, “SHIT,” the man exclaimed, pressing a hand to his ear, “What's going on? Why is the alarm going off?” _

_ “I don't know!” the voice in his ear responded, “What did you do?” _

_ “ME!? I didn't do anything!” _

_ “Whatever, we'll talk about this later, just get OUT!” The voice snapped and the man complied, looking around widely for an exit. _

\--

The weeks following, Alec and Magnus' reconciliation they spent a lot of time together and Alec put all thoughts of what he had heard that day from his mind, including the wine glass that still resided in Alec's safe. Him and Magnus were back together and everything was going great, no point in ruining it over one stupid conversation.

When they got the call that the museum had just been robbed, Alec was just heading out to dinner with Magnus but he knew he had no choice but to go, the brief description had sounded similar to the coin heist and he needed to check it out. Sighing resignedly he dialed Magnus.

“Hello, darling, I was just going to call you and see where you wanted to go for dinner or if you wanted to stay in. I have just had the longest day and I could really use some cuddle time...”

“Magnus...” Alec started, he hated doing this but it was his job, his job that he loved...but still.

Magnus paused, “I recognize that tone, I take it you aren't going to make it to dinner?”

“No, not tonight, I'm sorry. I was really looking forward to it but someone just robbed the Gershon and I have to go...I really don't want to, if it makes you feel any better but I have to because this one might be connected to the other case that I've been investigating and it's really important.”

“The Gershon, you say?”

“Yeah, someone stole a painting, which I don't get  _ why _ they would pick that museum, but whatever---I have to go look at it, at least,” Alec cuts himself off when he realizes he's been rambling.

“I understand, my dear. As I've said before, I didn't start dating an FBI agent without preparing for this kind of thing. I'll grab some take out and you can swing by later, have some dinner, maybe stay the night,” Magnus offered, his voice dipping at the end.

Alec bit his lip, smiling softly at the floor, “Yeah, that sounds great. I'll try and duck out quickly if I can...I'll text you when I'm on my way?”

“Okay, I'll see you later, Alexander.”

“Bye, Magnus...” Alec trailed off, pulling the phone away from his ear and hanging up, following Jace out to the car.

“This better be worth it,” Alec grumbled to Jace as he buckled up.

Jace rolled his eyes, “Come on, you love this stuff. You're just bitter because you had a hot date with Magnus tonight.”

Alec can't really disagree there, so he just grumbles as Jace drives towards the museum.

“What was stolen, anyway?” Jace asks, as he takes a right onto 22nd street.

“Some painting, the most valuable one there, from what I know of the Gershon. They don't really hold anything that worth more than $800,000, which was the total value of the painting. They do have a rare book collection but nothing in there is worth it...I mean they have the Mosconi Codex, but that wasn't missing, nothing but that painting.”

“Hm, okay, so we're just looking at a painting?”

Alec sighed, “Yeah, supposedly, but this sounds fishy to me...which is the only reason I'm even bothering to go.”

“Well, here we are,” Jace announced, not even a minute later, pulling into a space, ignoring the last part of Alec's statement.

“Awesome,” Alec said, stepping out of the car as he pulled his gloves on. He flashed his badge to the officer guarding the door and was let in.

When he entered he walked over to where Aline was standing, “What have we got so far, Aline?”

“Well...nothing really. The painting was stolen at approximately 5:55 pm, the security cameras were disabled at 5:45, and the alarms triggered at 6:03. By the time the response team got here at 6:08, the painting and the thief had disappeared without trace. The painting that was stolen was a Haley Wines, called ‘Harmony Among None,’ worth $786,400 but the thief cut the painting out of the frame, which would reduce the value down to about $600,000.”

Alec frowned, “That's odd. The piece isn't worth that much to begin with and by cutting it out of the frame means the thief would lose $150,000. This piece doesn't seem worth the risk, at least from a logical standpoint...we’re sure there wasn’t anything else missing? It could have been a distraction?”

Aline shrugged, “The owners are on their way now to do an official inventory but from what we can tell, no, nothing else seems to have been touched.”

Alec's frown intensified, something was not right here. This painting, while worth a good chunk of change, wasn't worth nearly enough to warrant all this trouble.

Jace clapped him on the shoulder, “Come on man, let's figure out what going on.”

After their initial search had turned up nothing, Jace had moved off to talk to the owners of the museum and help them finalize the official inventory, leaving Alec to pace puzzling over what had happened.

Something felt off, he was sure the same person who stole the welsh gold was behind this. It had the same type of cleanliness as the gold theft but still there was something...missing. With the gold Alec had been sure it had been a build-up, an end to the means. The gold was valuable and easily converted to cash but that was all it had been, something the thief could liquidize. It was a beginning step to something much bigger, if this was what was bigger, there had to be something else missing.

The painting they stole was a great piece but still, it wasn't worth all this trouble. It had no information hidden on it. There had to be something else that the thief was after...

“Hey man, what's up?” Jace asked, approaching Alec.

Alec frowned, slightly, “Something is missing. We're missing something and I can't figure out what it is.”

Jace looked around, “Why do you think we're missing something?”

“Because that piece wasn’t worth all that much to begin with, not to mention whoever stole it, cut it out of the frame, further decreasing its worth. It just seems like way too much trouble to go through for a painting worth so little. This just doesn't sit right with me...I think they were after something else and this was just a decoy...”

Jace looked around, considering, “I suppose you've got a point...but nothing else is missing. I just finished with the owner, he ran two separate inventories, just to be sure.”

Alec sighed, that was true but it didn't dissuade him from the idea that there was something else going on but still, no point in beating a dead horse,  ”Yeah, okay. How do you think the thief got out? When the alarm went off the metal doors all came down, automatically.”

Jace nodded, “I was wondering that myself, actually, the windows are all intact and all the gates were down...”

Alec wandered off towards the closest gate, peering at it thoughtfully, “This is electric, right?” he asked, crouching down to inspect the wall.

“Yeah, what are you thinking?”

“Well, if it's electric, then it's got to have some wires somewhere, like a control panel...” Alec explained, slowly, as he inspected the wall next to where one of the gates were, “Ah, here we go,”  he tried to pry the cover off, but the gloves he had been wearing were too thick. Giving up, he pulled them off and grabbed the small covering that was painted the same color as the wall. Jace crouched next to him as he pulls it off.

Once it's placed carefully on the floor, Alec leans forward and pulls out the wire, which has been severed “Bingo, he cut the wire...”

“Alec...” Jace started slowly.

“What?” Alec asked, turning to Jace, who was looking at Alec's abandoned pair of gloves.

“You had to take your gloves off to get to the control panel...”

“Yeah...so wh---oh, oh my God, do you think?” Excitement coursing through him Alec looked at Jace, a huge grin breaking out on his face, “We need to check the metal gates. If the thief took his gloves off to access the control panel, he might not have put them back on to lift the gate, which means prints. Get CSU in here, tell them to dust the metal gates for prints...all of them.”

“Why all of them?” Jace questioned, even as he reached for his radio.

Alec finally stood back up, “Because, remember that feeling I had earlier, that there was something more going on?” Jace nodded, “Well, it's even worse now. Stealing that painting, it took some skill, yeah, but to be able to improvise and think so quickly under that kind of pressure? We're looking at a professional, someone who knows what they're doing.”

“I could see that, is there anything else we need to do here?” Jace asked.

Alec shook his head, already pulling out his phone to text Magnus, “No, nothing we need to do. Anyway, the probies and CSU can take care of the rest.”

“Am I dropping you at Magnus'?” Jace asked, smirking.

“Nope, it's a quick walk from here. Tell Aline I said bye and I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Skipping out early, thought I'd never see the day,” Jace called teasingly after him, all Alec did was give him the finger.

Once out in the crisp evening air Alec hurried down the street, the museum was only a few blocks from Magnus' apartment. When he reached Magnus' place, he knocked quickly.

The door flew open, revealing Magnus in all his glory, “Well hello there, Alexander. I wasn't expecting you to be so quick.”

Alec's smile spread across his face, “There was a breakthrough. CSU is processing, not much I can do. Plus...I'd much rather spend the night cuddling and eating dinner with my lovely boyfriend,” Alec said as he pulled Magnus into him and kissed him thoroughly on the lips, “Speaking of takeout...what did you get?” he mumbled against Magnus lips, trailing his down Magnus' jaw, and neck.

“I got Indian but we can heat it up later...”

Alec pulls his face out of Magnus' neck, “You got Indian?” he asks excitedly, “But you don't even like Indian!”

Sighing, Magnus said, “Yes, but you like Indian and I could tell you'd had as hard a day as I had, so...I bought Indian.”

“You are the best,” Alec said, leaving tiny kisses all over Magnus face, “And I... love you.”

“You love me?” Magnus asked, like he couldn't quite believe his ears.

Alec hadn't really been planning to say it but that didn't make it any less true, “I love you and it's fine if you don't--”

Alec was cut off by Magnus’ lips on his. The kiss was fierce and passionate, Magnus clutching at the back of Alec's neck and Alec with his arms around Magnus' waist. “I love you too,” Magnus says when they come up for air.

Alec can barely contain his grin, dipping his head back down to catch Magnus' lips in another kiss.

They kissed for a few more minutes, before Alec's stomach gave a disgruntled twist and he pulled back slowly, “Not that I'm not enjoying this but maybe we could continue after dinner?”

Magnus’ answering smile was fond, “Of course, darling.”

They headed into the kitchen where takeout boxes were still scattered around, “Did you already eat?” Alec asks, grabbing a plate and starting to load up.

“Mm, I did, sadly, but I didn't know how long you were going to be and I was hungry.”

Alec shrugged, sitting at the island, “That's fine, how was your day?”

Magnus took a seat next to him, “Oh, it was fine. Long and stressful but fine.”

“Why was it stressful?”

“Oh, just clients and then one of my coworkers made a mistake and I had to help clean up after him and I just...it was just a long day.”

“Which coworker? I didn't think freelance workers had ‘coworkers,’“ Alec questioned, shoveling food into his mouth.

Magnus paused, “Well, not in the normal sense but I bug Raphael into helping me sometimes, so I guess one could consider him a coworker.”

“Raphael?” Alec said, remembering the man Magnus had been arguing with a few weeks ago.

“Yeah, he's one of my oldest friends.”

“How...how did you meet?” Alec treads carefully, he's moving into ultra-personal territory.

Magnus takes a breath, “We met when I was about thirteen. I was...still in my rough patch and we worked well together, he helped me out of my bad situations and I helped him out of his bad situations. It's a bond that has lasted.”

Alec feels his heart swell. He knows Magnus doesn't like sharing his past, their biggest argument was about it and so when he imparts these morsels to Alec, he always feels incredibly thankful. Reaching out a hand, he grips Magnus' hand where it is clenched on the counter, “Thank you, for telling me.”

“I...I want to tell you more, but I don't… it scares me because I know the end result and...I can't take that risk.”

“Magnus...nothing you could say could make my feelings for you stop. I love you and I know we just said it but it's true,” Alec's other hand comes to rest on Magnus' cheek.

“I love you, too, and I want you to know I'm trying...”

“I know, Mags, I know. You can tell me whatever you want, at your own pace okay. I understand that it's hard and I...overreacted last time.”

“I'm sorry for dragging all this back up. I know it's a sore spot for us and I---I want it not to be a sore spot. I want to share that stuff with you but--”

“Magnus, it's okay,” Alec said, trying to reassure Magnus, “I understand and whatever you want to tell me I will appreciate, no question about it okay? Now, let's go to bed, it's been an emotional day.”

Magnus nodded and let Alec lead him to bed. They both did their nighttime routine without talking and when they finally crawled into bed, Magnus immediately nestled his head in Alec's neck. Wrapping an arm firmly around Magnus' waist, he kisses his head.

“I love you, Magnus.”

“And I love you, Alexander.”

 

When Alec wakes up, Magnus is still tucked into his neck but his fingers are tracing shapes on Alec's pectorals. Brushing a hand through Magnus' hair, he drops a kiss on his forehead.

“Good morning, are you hungry?” He asks softly, checking the time to make sure he has enough time to make breakfast before work.

“Mm, yes,” Magnus says, kissing Alec's chest, “What were you thinking?”

“Just some eggs, bacon, if you have it,” Alec said, closing his eyes again. It was really warm, wrapped up in the covers with Magnus on his chest, “I have an hour before I head to work.”

“Doing anything interesting today?” Magnus asks, resuming tracing shapes on Alec's chest.

“Sort of, we have to figure out what happened at the Gershon, last night, obviously. Probably have to chase down some leads, you know. CSU should be getting us a report on their findings soon...all though it might take a while to check the--” Alec stops talking abruptly, there is only so much he can say about an ongoing investigation, even to Magnus.

“Check the what?” Magnus asks, resting his chin on Alec's chest.

“Nothing,” Alec sighs, “How about those eggs?”

“I really hate it when you do that,” Magnus grumps, “You get to the good stuff and then you cut yourself off.”

Alec smiles fondly as he untangles himself from Magnus, drops a kiss on Magnus’ forehead, and stands to go make breakfast, “I know and I wish I could talk to you about it...but I can't, I'm sorry.”

“No need to apologize, love, I was only teasing.”

Nodding, Alec headed into the kitchen and made some eggs (it turned out Magnus did not have bacon), and the rest of the morning passed pleasantly.

“Wait, what are you doing today?” Alec asked as he got ready to go, tying his tie, or well trying to, until Magnus gave an exasperated huff and walked over to do it for him.

“I have a meeting with a client and then I'm meeting Isabelle for lunch,” he said, nonchalantly, like having lunch with Alec's sister, without Alec, was no big deal.

“You're what? Why? Since when?” Alec asked, staring at Magnus.

Magnus snorted, “Since a while ago. We've been texting, really it's not like I was trying to hide it from you. I like your sister, she's smart and has an amazing fashion sense. Of course it also helps that she has an astonishing amount of embarrassing childhood stories of you that you refuse to share with me.”

“What!? What has she told you, I can guarantee none of it is true!” Alec spluttered, his eyes wide and a blush staining his cheeks.

“Oh, darling, don't worry, I thought the 'Jingle Bells' story was cute!”

Alec buried his face in his hands, “That was Jace's fault, he told me we were singing that version,” Alec lamented.

Magnus laughed, reaching up and pulling Alec's hands away from his face and pecking his lips, “I have no doubt, darling, but you really must be going if you're picking up Jace.”

“Yeah, come kiss me a little more though,” Alec requested, grasping Magnus’ belt loops to pull him even closer, despite his cheeks going more red.

“Of course, Alexander,” Magnus said, as he leaned closer and captured Alec's lips with his. They made out for a minute, Alec sucking on Magnus' bottom lip and darting his tongue out.  When he pulled away, he sighed and leaned his forehead against Magnus'.

“I can't come over tonight. I've got an all-night stakeout, favor for Raj,” Alec said softly.

Magnus pouted, “Alright, can you come over for breakfast tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning then...” Alec agreed, pulling away completely and heading for the door, “I...love you.”

“I love you, too, mon chou,” Magnus waved and Alec smiled, exiting and heading down to the garage where he parked his car.

He was still smiling when he picked up Jace, who looked at him weirdly.

“What?” he asked, as he pulled back out into traffic.

“Nothing, you're just smiling really big and it's a little weird.”

Alec laughed, “Thanks Jace that makes me feel great about myself.”

Jace's eyes narrowed further, “Something happened last night with Magnus?”

“So what if something did?” Alec asked, turning his signal on to park in the FBI building’s parking lot “Have we gotten anything from the lab?”

“I'm not telling you until you tell me what's going on,” Jace said stubbornly as they walked up towards the elevators.

Rolling his eyes at Jace's childishness, Alec relents, “Fine, I told Magnus I loved him last night and he said it back.”

Jace stared at him for a moment, a smile spreading across his face, “Bro, that's awesome, come here, I'm so happy for you, Alec,” he exclaimed, stopping to pull Alec into a hug.

“Yeah...it's great...now, what did CSU turn up?”

“I don't know, I haven't heard from them.”

Alec's mouth dropped open, “You jerk!” he exclaimed, stepping out of the elevator and into their office space. 

Jace laughed, “Come on, you know you'd get it before me anyway, so check your inbox, I'm sure something is there.”

Glaring at Jace, Alec turns and goes through his inbox and sure enough, there was the crime scene report. Pulling it open, he scanned the contents.

“Oh my God, Jace, come look at this. I was right!” Alec exclaimed.

Jace peered over his shoulder, “What are you right about this time?”

“They found two sets of prints, one on the gate closest to the one on the painting and one on the gate leading out of the rare book room!”

“...But nothing was stolen out of the rare book room, why was someone in there?” Jace asked, confused.

“No...nothing was stolen...but something could've been tampered with...we need to look at all those books. Get the owners on the phone, tell them we're coming with a warrant and call a team,” Alec says, heading back to his desk to get on the phone himself, “I'll get the warrant approved, I know a guy. Then we can head over there and supervise.”

Jace nodded and grabbed his phone to start making calls. Alec quickly calls Judge Starkweather, a friend of his parents. Explaining the situation quickly, he approves the warrant and Alec hangs up, pleased. Grabbing his coat, he starts to head out, to go supervise, leaving Jace to follow in a taxi once he finished wrapping things up.

Getting in his car he starts to head over. His veins rush with adrenaline, he loves this part of the investigation, new clues and new puzzles to figure out. When he reaches the museum, the team is already there, waiting for him and the warrant.

He heads to where the owner, Mr. Jameson are standing and hands him the warrant.

“You understand everything in that room must be handled with the utmost care, these are historic books...” Mr. Jameson said, he looking over the warrant carefully. 

“Of course, our agents will be very gentle. We'll start with the Mosconi Codex since it's the most valuable and most likely to be tampered with,” Alec says, beckoning his team forward.

“You must understand, I will only allow the Mosconi Codex to be examined by one of my employees, it is very delicate and as you said very valuable.”

“Okay but we will be standing by to inspect it,” Alec concedes as they enter the rare book room, his team has already started to look through all the books, page by page.

“Dot, over here, these men need you to examine the Mosconi Codex, to see if anything has been tampered with,” Mr. Jameson called over a small woman, standing in the corner, watching the agents go through the books.

“Of course, Mr. Jameson, if you guys would follow me,” she smiled at Alec, and the other agents that had accompanied him, she led them to a small display case, and entered a code into the keypad, the glass case surrounding the book receded.

Dot proceeded to go through each page with great care. It took almost an hour to get halfway through, by that time Jace had joined him. They were watching with careful eyes as Dot turned the page to chapter thirteen which had...was that a werewolf? Alec tilted his head...that couldn't be right.

“Is that...a vampire?” Jace asked, pointing to another picture and sure enough it was a drawing of Dracula, blood dripping from his fangs and collar turned high.

“...This is not part of the original Mosconi Codex, I assume,” Alec directed at Dot, who was staring incredulously at the pages.

“I can't believe it...that was...a masterpiece, they've destroyed it...” she mumble.

Alec took that as a yes, while he appreciated the fact this was an old book ruined, he had a thief to catch, “Does anybody know what was in chapter thirteen?”

Dot shook her head, “No one has been allowed to open it since the 1940's, when it was recovered. No one knows why but the family that owned it donated it with strict instructions the book should never be opened.”

“Great, so no one knows what's inside,” Alec says, frowning, just another piece to a never ending puzzle it seemed.

“It's rumored to hold the location of the Hope Diamond that was stolen from the Italian’s by the Masons according to legend. According to Mosconi it holds the location of the ‘greatest wealth in the universe’.” Dot said.

“Well at least we know why they wanted to steal it,” Jace said.

“Not that it really narrows it down. Alright, we'll need someone to read and analyze the book then, although I can't imagine there's anything useful that'll lead us anywhere, if they only stole one chapter it must be the one with all the information on it.”

“I'll analyze it,” Dot offered, “Mr. Jameson probably won't let anyone else do it anyway.”

Alec nods and agrees, going over to Mr. Jameson to discuss arrangements. It was a long day after that. Both him and Jace had to go fill to paperwork and then Alec had to go on his stakeout, which he deeply regretted agreeing to. When he finally got home at three in the morning after being relieved, he collapsed into bed hoping to sleep for at least five hours of sleep before he went to breakfast with Magnus.

 

But rarely did things ever go the way Alec wanted them to and he was woken at seven by a shrill ring from his phone. He reached for it blindly and without even checking to see who it was, answered.

“Lightwood.”

“Hello, Alec,” came out his mother's voice, causing Alec to scramble up, suddenly a lot more awake than he was moments ago.

“Mother, hi, how are you?” He asked quickly.

“I'm alright, how are you? Are you just waking up?” She asked, judgement clear in her tone.

“Yes, I had a late night stakeout, you know, making sure bad guys don't do bad things and all that horrid nonsense.” He sniped at her, which he immediately regretted, it was far too early to argue with his mother.

Luck seemed to be on his side today, as she chose to ignore his comment, “Isabelle mentioned you've got a boyfriend.”

Shit, shit, shit, was all Alec was thinking, his brain seemed to screech to a halt, “Uh...” damn Isabelle, why did she have to go blab to his parents, “Um...I...might have,” he winced.

His mother sighed impatiently on the other end of the phone, “That's not an answer, Alec.”

“I do...have one...a boyfriend I mean...” Alec wondered if this was all his mother was calling to talk to him about and if it was why she deemed it necessary to call at seven in the morning on a weekday.

“Well, we'd like to have you and him over for dinner sometime,” his mom said, and he winced.

“‘We?’”

“Yes, your father and I, of course Max will be there, as will Isabelle and Jace.”

Biting his lip, Alec tried to think of an excuse. His father and his boyfriend in the same room was not something he ever wanted to happen again. The last time had not been pretty, it had started with disgusted looks and ended with the word ‘fag’ being used and it had  _ escalated _ from there. “I'm not sure...”

“Your father...he feels badly for how he handled himself last time. I promise he'll be on his best behavior. I...we would like to meet this man, who Isabelle says makes our son happy.”

“Mom, I want to be able to share that part of my life with you...but dad, I don't know if I can risk putting Magnus through what happened last time.”

His mother sighed, obviously having expected something along those lines, “Okay, Alec, but please think about it.”

“I'll talk to Magnus about it, but that's all I can promise. I love you, mom, tell Max I said hi.”

“Okay, I will and I love you too, Alec. I expect I'll hear from you soon, goodbye,” and she hung up. Alec looked at his phone in surprise, that had been abrupt. Glancing at the time he decided he could get another hour and a half of sleep before he had to meet Magnus. Rolling over Alec closed his eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

When he woke up again a few hours later it was to his phone once again, he groaned and pulled it over, this time checking who was calling and seeing Magnus' name appear on the screen he smiled lightly.

“Hey,” he greeted, his voice still rough from sleep.

“Hey, did I wake you?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah, but that's okay. What'd you need? We still meeting for breakfast?” Alec asked, sitting up and glancing at the clock.

“Yeah, I was just calling to see where you wanted to meet?”

“Um...how about the diner on 23rd?” he suggested, as he started to get dressed, “I'll be there in twenty?”

“Sure, love, I'll see you in a minute,” Magnus said and they hung up. Alec pulled on a grey suit and pulled out the tie Magnus had gotten him a while ago. It was a dark green  and it reminded Alec of their first date, Magnus in that dark green shirt.

He headed out and when he reached the diner, he saw Magnus already sitting at a table, waiting for him. He hurried over and gave Magnus a kiss on the cheek in greeting.

“Hi,” Magnus said, smiling at Alec as he sat down, “How what your day yesterday?”

“It was pretty good. We had another mini-breakthrough on the painting heist but I can't really say much more than that, confidentiality and all. The stakeout was long and unnecessary but now Raj owes me, so there's that at least. How was your day?”

“My day was great, Isabelle and I had a great lunch. We went shopping after for a bit until she had to go back to work, which was nice. I always like it when my shopping partner can tell the difference between navy and indigo,” Magnus said with a wink and Alec frowned a little.

“I  _ told _ you that I wasn't going to be much help in that regard...”

Magnus smiled, “I know, darling, I was only teasing. Plus, I think it's cute.”

Alec blushed a little and was saved from responding by the appearance of a waiter. Magnus had already gotten them both coffee so Alec just ordered an omelet while Magnus ordered their blueberry waffles.

“Uh, I actually had something to talk to you about...” Alec started cautiously after the waiter walked away.

“Oh? What about?” Magnus asked curiously.

Alec bit his lip, “Well...my mom called me this morning and apparently Izzy's been blabbing to my parents about you and I...and they sort of want to meet you?”

“Okay,” Magnus said, a smile curling the corners of his mouth, “I know ‘meet the parents’ is supposed to be a big deal but we're six months into a relationship, Alexander. I had expected this at some point.”

Alec ran a hand through his hair, “It's just...historically speaking, my parents and my...boyfriends don't mix well.” When Magnus quirked an eyebrow, Alec sighed, “The first and last time I had a boyfriend over, my dad...well, the evening ended in catastrophe and I'm not exaggerating.”

Magnus' eyes softened, “I'm sorry, but I do want to meet your family, so I don't mind. It's entirely up to you.”

Alec shook his head, “No, this is your decision. All I can do is warn you that my dad doesn't really...approve of me being gay and he was very clear on that fact the last time I ‘indulged in that lifestyle’ according to him. I don't want you to go in there with any misconceptions on how it's going to be...”

Magnus smiled at him gently, “Thank you, Alexander, and I understand. But, I love you and I am willing to put up with a slightly homophobic father, it's not something I don't have experience with, alright? So set it up, and I'll be there, one hundred percent.”

Alec grabbed Magnus' hand, “If you're sure, they want us over for dinner, which is good, because that means Jace, Clary, Isabelle and Simon will all be there, so that might help...ease the tension a little bit.”

The waiter brought over their breakfasts and they started eating.

“What did you mean when you said you had experience with slightly homophobic father's?” Alec asked, suddenly.

“Oh, darling, that is a story for another time. Let's just say you aren't the only one,” Magnus' eyes were infinitely sad and Alec decided not to push it, he just gripped Magnus' hand more tightly and kept eating.

When he and Magnus parted, Alec pulled out his phone and called his mom. “Hey, mom.”

“Hi, honey, have an answer so quick?”

“Yeah, we met for breakfast, um, he says he's fine with it, but…” Alec paused for a second, “if dad does anything, understand it'll be a lot worse than last time. I'll be a lot angrier and I probably won't come back, do you understand?”

His mother was quiet for a moment, “I understand, and I'll...I'll tell your father.”

“Good, is Saturday a good day for you?”

“Yes, come around five-thirty?” She said, her voice tight.

“Okay, we'll be there.” Alec agreed, stepping into the FBI building, “I'll see you Saturday mom, I love you.”

“I love you too, Alec.”

 

Saturday came around way too fast for Alec's liking. Work had been busy, them picking up a new case about an arms dealer, they were planning a stakeout for next Tuesday, and the last thing Alec wanted to do on his Saturday evening was go to dinner with his parents and his boyfriend. But there was no backing out.

Alec watched as Magnus put the final touches on his outfit. He would never say anything to Magnus about the way he dresses but, Magnus seemed to pick up on the fact that Alec's dad was...not a very modern in his view points and so, he had toned down his outfit for the night. His shirt was a simple blue, with random bits of glitter, his eye makeup was subtle, only a little eyeliner.

Walking over to him, Alec wraps his arms around his waist, hooking his chin over his shoulder, “You look amazing,” he says, dropping a kiss on Magnus neck.

“Mm, thank you, darling, you look quite ravishing yourself,” Magnus hums, leaning his head back on Alec's shoulder.

“I would hope so, since you're the one that dressed me,” he laughed, tucking his face into Magnus' neck, “I love you.”

He felt Magnus' lips quirk up into a smile, “I love you, too, darling, can I ask what brought this on?” Magnus asks, twisting in Alec's grip, and wrapping his arms around Alec's neck.

Alec shrugs, “I'm just...worried about tonight...my mom promised he'd be on his best behavior...but I don't want him to say anything to you.”

“Alexander...I promise, it'll be fine, okay? It's gonna turn out okay,” Magnus reassured him, running a hand through his hair, “Now, how come I’m the one always calming you down about this kind of stuff? It seems to me our roles should be reversed.”

Laughing, Alec leans down and kisses Magnus, “I don’t know, it’ll remain a mystery,” he takes a more serious tone, “Just remember I love you.”

“As long as you remember that I love you. Now enough of this sappy stuff, let's get a move on, we don't want to be late.”

It only takes an hour to get to Alec's old house, out on the outskirts of New York suburbs. When they walk up the front steps Alec feels the dread clump his throat and he grips Magnus hand. Why is he always the nervous one, he wonders vaguely, but is snapped out of his thoughts by the door opening.

“Alec! You're here!” Alec looked down to see his youngest brother Max, who had just turned fourteen.

“Hey, little man, what's up,” he asked, reaching out and pulling Max into a hug, momentarily forgetting his nerves, it had been way too long since he last saw Max.

“Nothing, you've haven't been to dinner in forever,” Max complains, as he leads them into the house.

“Sorry, Max, I've been busy with work,” Alec tries to explain.

Max shakes his head immediately, “No, because Jace was over two weeks ago and he has the same job as you. Anyway, who's this?”

Chuckling a little at his brothers reasoning Alec moves to introduce Magnus, “Max, this is Magnus, my...boyfriend, and Magnus, this is Max, my little brother,” Alec introduces quickly.

“Hey, Max,” Magnus said, smiling brightly at Max.

Max just looks at him critically, “Hi Magnus. Alec hasn't had a boyfriend in a while, I hope you're being good to him.”

“Max! Come on, stop it, that's ridiculous,” Alec snapped, his cheeks warming.

“It's quite alright, I am trying my best to be good to him, I promise,” Magnus said, smiling at Max.

Alec's cheeks warmed further and he ushered Magnus into the living room, where Jace, Clary, Isabelle, Simon, Robert and Maryse Lightwood were waiting.

Taking a deep breath Alec pulls Magnus closer to him, “Hey, guys, Mom, Dad, this is Magnus, my boyfriend.”

“Hi, it's great to meet you,” Magnus said, shaking Robert's hand as he comes forward.

Robert's face is stiff, tension sharp in his body, but all he says is “Hello, Magnus. I'm Robert, it's nice to meet you too.”

Alec feels his muscles relax slightly as his mother moves forward to take Magnus' hand, “And I'm Maryse, it's great to finally meet you. Unfortunately Alec's been very hush hush on the topic, although Isabelle's been very forthcoming. Dinner should be just about ready if you would all like to move into the kitchen?”

Everyone got up and started to move towards the kitchen, Alec hold Magnus' back a bit. “You doin' okay?” he asked quietly.

Magnus smiled at him, gently, “Yes, darling, I’m fine.”

“Okay, okay good,” he exhaled.

“Alexander,” Magnus murmured, touching his cheek gently, “You need to calm down, whatever happens I'm still here, even if it turns out worse than last time.”

Alec felt the nerves in his gut settle, if only a little. Kissing his palm quickly, Alec smiled at Magnus and said, “Well then, let's go.”

 

\---

 

The dinner...had gone fine. It was awkward, but with Isabelle, Jace and their significant others there, it helps keep conversation moving. Alec's dad was tense the whole time, barely speaking, and only if he was forced to. All in all, compared to what Alec had been preparing for, it goes great. 

Magnus and Alec's relationship continued to move forward, even more so they had now done the obligatory dinner with the family, well one of them anyway, but with how little Magnus mentioned of his family, Alec had a strong suspicion that him meeting Magnus' parents was never going to happen.

When Alec gets back to Magnus' apartment from a stakeout, it's well past midnight, and Alec knew that Magnus was probably asleep, so he tiptoes around putting his stuff away, securing his gun and badge in the small safe that Alec had brought over for when he spent the night. He takes off his jacket and hangs it by the door, unlacing his shoes, abandoning them under his jacket.

Moving stealthily, he padded into the bedroom and, as he suspected, saw Magnus curled under the covers, sleeping soundly. He smiled fondly and started getting ready for bed. When he was brushing his teeth however, he heard a cross between a whimper and a moan, pausing he listens for a second. It happens again but this time it crescendos into a scream, spitting out the last of the toothpaste Alec rushes into the bedroom.

He see that Magnus is still curled on the bed but instead of the peaceful slumber he had seemed to be having moments before, he was twitching. Another sound breaks through and Alec moves over to the side Magnus is sleeping on, hurriedly.

“Magnus?” He calls softly, but all Magnus does is whimper again. Reaching forward Alec grabs Magnus' shoulder, Magnus jerks wildly and Alec has to duck to avoid Magnus' fist. Quickly catching Magnus' arm, Alec calls his name a little louder, “Magnus, wake up!”

Jerking wildly again Magnus' eyes fly open, he stares at Alec for a minute, obviously confused, “Alec...Alec, what's going on?”

Alec moves his hands down to grip Magnus' “You were having a nightmare, so I woke you up. I just got here, it's past twelve,” trying to keep his voice level calm, so as to reassure Magnus.

“Oh.” Is all Magnus says, still looking a little disoriented, looking closer Alec could see that his eyes were misty, “That hasn't happened in...awhile.”

Settling on the bed, Alec wraps an arm around Magnus' shoulder and Magnus leans into him, burrowing into the space under Alec's chin, “Can I...ask what it was about?” Alec asks cautiously.

Magnus sighs, “I...it's a recurring nightmare...I've had it ever since...”

Alec squeezes Magnus gently, trying to reassure him that he was there.

“My dad...wasn't great. When I was little, he thought...you have to understand I've never been...subtle about my sexuality. I'm bi and proud...and when I was little my father, he---he could tell, or he suspected enough to t-try and, uh, beat it out of me. When he realized that that wasn't working, he took a-a much more...direct route.”

“Magnus...” Alec choked, running a hand through the short hairs at the back of Magnus' neck, “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

He shakes his head, “I...it feels good to tell someone. This isn't something I normally talk about...and it's nice to get it off my chest.”

“Okay, remember, you can tell me anything. I won't judge you or think differently about you,” Alec added, feeling it was a good idea to remind Magnus of this.

“Thank you, sweetheart. Anyway, when I was about eleven or twelve, he...got sick of me being, well, me, so when I was out playing in the creek behind our house...” Magnus paused and when Alec glanced at him, he saw tears leaking out of his eyes, “he came up behind me and tried t-to drown me.”

Alec felt anger thrumming through his veins, his arms tightening around Magnus. How could someone be so cold blooded as to drown a  _ child _ and the fact that it was Magnus, made it so much worse. Alec couldn't believe anyone would be able to hurt this wonderful man. Rolling them so that Alec was hovering over Magnus, Alec brushed his thumbs across his cheekbones, swiping at the tears staining Magnus' face. Alec started to pepper  gentle kisses all over his face, on his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, his eyes.

“Thank you, for telling me,” he said between kisses, “You are so brave, and strong, and wonderful, and you amaze me everyday. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Magnus sniffed, “Thank you, I love you too.”

Alec held Magnus a little longer, keeping him close in the circle of his arms. Magnus was out soon after but Alec stayed awake, thinking over everything Magnus had told him.  He needed to protect Magnus, he had always been a protector, but now, after that...Magnus deserved to be protected, and so Alec made a decision.

 

The next day Alec headed into the lab during lunch. Simon was working at his workstation, but everyone else was gone. “You know you should take a break every once in awhile,” Alec joked.

Simon snorted, “That's rich coming from you! What's up, Alec?” He turned to face him.

Alec's smile dimmed, “I have a favor to ask you...” he said, and he pulled out the wine glass that he had swiped from Magnus' place.

Simon looked at him, “Okay, what do you need?”

“I need you to run these prints...quietly.”

Simon raised his eyebrows, “Am I allowed to ask why?”

“I just need a name, if one comes up, okay? It's not really a big deal...if you don't want to I guess that's fine...”

“Nah, man, it's fine, I'll run it, but I've got a lot on backorder, so do I need to rush it?”

“No, that's fine. I don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to it, if that's possible?”

“Yeah, of course, I get it,” Simon assured him.

“Thanks man,” Alec said, clapping Simon on the shoulder, “Next time Izzy's on the fence I'll talk her down.”

Simon smiled fondly, “Thanks, she's great, but she's lucky I'm patient, and head over heels for her,” he joked.

Alec chuckled, “That she is. But she'll come around eventually, she's just got--”

“Commitment issues, yeah, I know. She was very upfront about that, which is always appreciated. But it's totally fine, when she's ready, I'll be here,” Simon said, resolutely, and Alec felt fondness curling in his gut.

“You're a good guy Simon,” Alec said, “Now, I better go before this gets even more emotional.”

They laughed and Simon waved as Alec left, “I'll get back to you on that print.”

 

Simon called him a week after he had dropped off the glass and it had been a relief, the prints weren't in the system, as far as anyone knew, the man was just a good friend of Magnus, not a criminal. Alec purposefully doesn't remind himself that not every criminal was in the system, it didn't matter, all was well. When Simon had asked if Alec had wanted the print put in AFIS, Alec had refused but told Simon to keep them, just in case.

\--

_ “We need someone who knows old books. We can't just keep going over these pages, they don't have anything significant from what we can tell.” _

_ “You better not suggest who I think you're suggesting.” _

_ “She would be able to help us!” _

_ “No, involving one more person would be risky, involving her is downright stupid!” _

_ “No one knows these books better than her, you know that.” _

_ “I still think it's a bad idea.” _

_ “It's our only option if we want to stop going in circles.” _

\---    

Alec collapsed on Magnus' couch, utterly exhausted. The processing of the museum was taking longer than expected. So far they've only found two set of prints, the ones on the door leading out of the main room, where the painting had been hidden, and one from the gate closing off the rare books room. Alec doubted there'd be more, but they were checking all of them to be thorough. The owners were not happy about how long the FBI was taking, they wanted to open the museum, and each day that past Alec had more angry voicemails to deal with.

“Alexander, are you alright?” Alec heard Magnus call from somewhere in the apartment.

“Yeah,” he called back. In reality, he was bone-tired, this case taking more out of him than he thought possible and to add to that, he had another case to work on tonight, one of his old cases had become relevant again. A Russian mob boss had returned to New York and Alec had an in with him. Which meant tomorrow he had to go undercover, so he needed to research tonight  _ and _ finish that report for the painting heist.

Alec let out a long groan, “Wow...your definition of alright must be a lot different than mine...” Magnus commented from the doorway, “Long day?”

“Mhm, a long day that isn't over yet...I've got so much work to do.”

“A breakthrough in that painting case?” Magnus' voice sounded off. Alec looked at him questioningly, but Magnus looked normal.

Shrugging it off, Alec ran a hand over his face, “No, unfortunately, that one remains slow progress. We've only got two sets of prints so far and the owners are calling me personally to complain, some idiot gave them my number, and so I've been fielding angry calls all day.”

“Anything else?” Magnus questioned, lifting Alec's legs so he could sit down, Alec rested his feet in his lap as he started to rub his ankles.

Sighing thankfully, Alec nodded, “Amazingly yes, you know that Russian mob boss?” When Magnus shook his head, Alec explained, “a while back we connected him to a money laundering scheme, but before we could get any closer he disappeared. Well, he's back in New York and I have to go undercover with him tomorrow so we can get an in.”

Alec felt Magnus' legs tense and when he spoke, his voice was tight, “You're going undercover with a Russian mob boss, tomorrow?”

“Yes, it shouldn't be a big deal. We don't need much more, we've already had a man on the inside for a long time, he's my in. All I need to do is approach him as a less than legitimate businessman, seal the deal, and get him to implicate himself. Bingo, bango, bongo. Nothing I haven't done before,” Alec explained, rubbing his face tiredly and closing his eyes.

“Still...a Russian mob boss...”

Alec recognized that tone, Izzy used it on him sometimes when he was involved in a dangerous case, so he sat up carefully, maneuvering himself so that he was sitting next to Magnus, reaching out he gripped his hand, “Look, I know it sounds bad but I promise, it's going to be fine. This is not something I've never done before. Jace, Lydia and Aline are all going to be there for backup, I'm going to be fine.”

Magnus grimaced at him, “I know...and I know, this is your job...but I can't help but worry about you, Alexander,” Magnus raised the hand not holding Alec's to touch Alec's cheek.

Leaning into the touch, Alec took a second to gather his thoughts, “It is my job, one that I love very much and while I'm...touched you're worried about me, I also... don't want you to be. This job is dangerous and I understand, but please trust me when I tell you, I know what I'm doing and I will always do my best to come back.”

Magnus' smiled tremulously, “I know, and I will try but you must understand, some worry will be inevitable.”

Alec grab Magnus' hand from where it lingered at his cheek and kissed his palm, “I know. Now, I've got some research to do but that shouldn't take me too long and after we can go to bed, okay?”

“It sounds like a plan, sweetheart. I'll sit with you?”

“Yeah, that'd be great.”

 

When morning came Alec could tell that Magnus was more fidgety than usual and when he asked if Jace was going to give Alec a ride this morning, Alec shook his head, “No, he has to drop by the office and I wanted to just go straight there, scout the area a little bit, get in the proper headspace, you know.”

“Do you mind telling me where it is? Cause I have a meeting this morning and I'd be happy to give you a ride,” Magnus offered, sipping his coffee.

Alec bit his lip, “It's over on 72nd Ave and Austin.”

Magnus paused, “Wait, really?

“Yeah, why?”

“Because that is exactly where I was going,” Magnus said, setting his coffee down and walking over to where Alec was sitting, “So, what do you say? I'll drive you to work and when you're done we can go get dinner?”

Turning on the stool Alec brackets Magnus with his legs, “That'd be great,” he says, pulling Magnus in for a kiss.

“Alright, it's a date,” Magnus said when they come back up for air, “Are you ready to go?”

Alec nods, finishing the last sips of his coffee as he grabs his bag, “I am, what's your meeting about?” He questions carefully, knowing Magnus is touchy about telling him about work things.

As he suspected Magnus waves a hand dismissively, as they make their way down to Magnus' car, “Oh, you know, talking to clients, all that boring stuff nobody should ever be forced to sit through.”

“Mm,” Alec hums, noncommittally, trying to let it go. They'd already had this argument and Magnus had said he would try, and he was. He told him about his father, which had to have been a big step, so Alec tries harder to let the work thing go.

“Anyway, where do you want to go for dinner tonight, love?” Magnus asks.

“I don't know, we could go see Helen, if you wanted? We haven't been in a while so it'd be nice to stop by...”

“Sounds like a plan,” Magnus smiles, as they head down towards Queens, “You get all the research down that you needed to?”

“Yup, I'm all prepped and ready.”

“If only that were true,” Magnus purred, and Alec didn't need to look to know that Magnus' eyes were trailing up his body.

“Magnus!” he scolded, even as his cheeks heated up to a fire engine red.

“Just joking with you, darling,” Magnus reassured, “Although...we could try--”

“Magnus, no! I don't even want to know what you were going to say...just,  let's have a regular, non-sex, conversation. The last thing I need is to be distracted by...by  _ that _ when I go undercover,” Alec said, flapping his hand in Magnus' direction, his face still red.

“As you wish, darling, how long do you think you'll be?”

“Um, not long, a few hours at most. I don't think he's going to be very hard to convince, he's hurting right now, being less cautious than he normally would be, so it's prime time.”

Magnus nods, “I shouldn't be long either and I think I'm just across the street, but I should warn you, my client is very concerned with confidentiality, so it'd be best if you wait where they can't see you.”

Squinting at him Alec asked, “What kind of freelance client needs confidentiality?”

“Oh, sometimes they're just weird about having people know they're getting their security checked, I don't know. All I do know is that they're paying me good money, so I'm gonna do what they ask.”

“Well, don't do anything illegal, I don't want to have to arrest you,” Alec jokes.

Magnus winks at him, “Wouldn't dream of it...well actually, I can't lie, I have dreamed about you and your handcuffs in the same sentence but with a very different context.”

“Magnus!” Alec said, his cheeks once again flaming, “You can't just say things like that!”

“Oh, but that is where you are wrong, darling, and I didn't hear a no in that either!” Magnus laughs, delightedly, finally pulling into a parking spot, “We can meet in that coffee shop over there and text me when you're done, I need to know if you're safe.”

Alec smiles at him, his face still red, “I will,” he reassures, pulling Magnus into a kiss, “I love you.”

“I love you too, see you after,” Magnus says, stealing one last kiss before walking off to wherever his meeting was.

After walking around for a minute, getting his bearings, Alec spots the utility van and headed towards it quickly. Entering through the side door he pushed through the plastic barrier into the back. Jace, Aline and Lydia were already there, along with Simon, who was running tech, and Luke, who must have decided to supervise today.

“Hey, guys, what's up?” He greeted.

“Nothing, your guy should be here in a few minutes, you clear on what to do?” Luke asked.

Alec nodded, “Yes, sir, I reviewed the case and my profile last night, I'm ready.”

“Okay, here is a watch, it has a tracker and a bug in it, we can hear you but you can't hear us. If they scan you for a wire, just hit this button and it will deactivate everything,” Simon explained, handing Alec a fake silver Rolex. He put it on quickly, “Hit the same button again and everything will come back on.”

“Just say ‘we have a deal’ when you're ready for us to come in,” Jace said.

“He's here,” Aline called, “You ready Alec?”

“Yup, see you guys later,” Alec turned and stepped out into the street.

All told it was pretty uneventful, Alec and Valentine met in a small vodka house, they were barely two drinks in when Valentine agreed to the ‘deal.’ Jace, Aline, and Lydia all burst in and the crew was arrested with barely any fight, (the crew included Alec, just to be safe, in case they ever needed the alias again). When they had finally driven away, Alec turned. It had taken about half an hour to talk Valentine into a deal and another hour to get them all arrested and taken to booking, he supposed Magnus' meeting should be done by now.

Rubbing his wrists lightly---Jace had made the handcuffs way tighter than necessary--Alec wandered towards the coffee shop he and Magnus were supposed to meet, texting Magnus. When he looked up though he saw his boyfriend just down the street, he altered his course.

Drawing closer he could see that Magnus was talking to two people, a woman, and a man who looked vaguely familiar...trying to place where he had seen the man before, Alec got close enough to hear the end of the conversation.

“...Goodbye Santiago, always a pleasure,” the woman said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness, “Magnus, I suspect I'll see you soon...”

“Of course, thank you for your help, Camille, Raphael and I appreciate it,” Magnus replied smoothly, smiling at  the woman.

Alec's eyebrows furrowed, Raphael...wasn't that one of Magnus' friends? And why was Magnus thanking the Camille woman? Wasn't she a client? Shouldn't she be thanking him...? Curious, and confused--which was never a good combination--Alec stepped back into an alley, as Magnus turned to Raphael.

“I don't know why you were so pissy with her, this was your idea in the first place,” he scolded.

“Just because we need her doesn't mean I have to sit and listen to her idiocy,” Raphael said, and Alec jolted. He remembered hearing that voice, it was the voice of the man who had been arguing with Magnus all those weeks ago. “I'll see you later, Magnus, alright?”

“Okay, Raphael, bye.” Raphael left, flagging a cab a little ways down. Alec saw Magnus check his phone and he knew Magnus would be heading over to the coffee shop, hurrying out from the alley Alec made his way over there.

Just as he sat down Magnus walked in, seeing Alec he smiled and headed over.

“Hey, how did it go?” he asked, leaning down to kiss him hello.

“Mm, it went fine, it was a bit dull, actually. Now it's just gonna be endless months of endless paperwork and evidence filing...I wish it had been a little more exciting...” Alec grumbled, his mind still reeling from the conversation he had just witnessed. It... irked him to see Raphael again, even though he knew Magnus was close friends with him and they hung out regularly. But Magnus had clearly lied, Camille was no client, what could be going on? The whole thing felt weird and Alec's mind drifted towards the print, tucked away safely with Simon.

“Well, I for one, am glad it went smoothly, if that means it got you back to me in one piece,” Magnus said, snapping Alec out of his thoughts.

“I guess, the paperwork can be boring sometimes though, especially if there are other things I'd rather be doing.”

“Don't you mean  _ someone _ else, dear?” Magnus asked, winking.

“Magnus! Honestly, that's like the third time today!”

Laughing, Magnus touches Alec's hand, “But you make it so easy, Alexander, and I can't resist.”

“You're hopeless,” Alec said, he cheeks warming, “I probably have to go the office, though, get started on that paperwork.”

“Alright, we can head out,” Magnus stands and offers Alec his hand and takes it. Walking hand in hand, they head over to the car.

“How was your meeting?” Alec asks cautiously.

“Oh, you know, tough to please, as usual, but it'll be fine,” Magnus said, as they drove off, “Are you planning on coming over tonight?”

“Yeah, I thought we were going to dinner...unless you're busy?”

“I'm always free for you, darling, and we were but I was thinking takeout tonight? The client was really stressful, he didn’t want to budge,” Magnus said smiling at him, and Alec returned to smile, leaning over and kissing Magnus on the cheek, trying to ignore the fact that Alec had seen the client and she was most definitely  _ not _ a he. 

But there was still an uneasy feeling at the back of his mind, this Raphael guy... his prints hadn't been in the system, that didn't mean, however, that he was in the clear.

Magnus dropped Alec off at the bureau and headed back to his apartment. When Alec entered the office he meant to head over to Simon's lab but, he was sidetracked by Lydia and Jace, pulled into doing paperwork on the Russian mob case.

By the time they called it quits for the day, Alec was tired and Simon had already headed home and Alec's phone was dead. Alec dragged himself to Magnus' and used the key under the mat. Letting himself in, he listen carefully and heard the sound of the shower going in the ensuite bathroom. Figuring Magnus was going to be in there a while, Alec pulled out his phone, plugged it in and dialed Simon.

“Hey, man, what's going on?” Simon greeted.

“Hi, Simon, nothing...just wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Sure, what's up?” Simon asked.

“Uh, do you remember those prints I asked you to run?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you still have them?”

“Of course, and I've kept it quiet, no one knows.”

Alec gave a sharp nod, “And I appreciate it, but I need you to run a comparison test on them with both prints we found at the crime scene and any other open cases I have with prints, if you can?”

“Alec...who do these prints belong to? And why did you have them in the first place? You're my friend, Alec, and I would do a lot for you...but if you're in trouble...I need to know.”

Alec felt a bubble of warmth grow in his chest, “I'm not in trouble, Simon, the situation is just...complicated and really delicate. Please, just run the prints. The prints that I gave you, they belong to Raphael Santiago.”

“Who's Raphael--”

“No one important...yet,” Alec cut him off, glancing behind him to make sure Magnus was still in the shower, “Just...run the comparison.”

“I will.”

“I owe you, Simon, thanks,” Alec said before he hung up.

“Why do you owe Simon?”

Alec jumped and spun around, “Magnus!” he yelped in surprise, “You scared me.”

“Sorry, mon chou,” he apologized, kissing Alec's cheek as he walked past. “I've already had dinner but there should be some leftovers in the fridge if you want some?”

“Uh...yeah, yeah, sure,” Alec agreed, following Magnus into the kitchen and grabbing a plate, as Magnus opened the fridge.

“Do you want some of this chicken? I ordered a salad too, if you want?” Magnus said, pulling out a chicken breast and a takeout container of salad.

“Oh, um, sure,” Alec had barely heard what Magnus had said.

“Are you alright, darling? Did something happen at work?” Magnus asked, concern clear in his voice and Alec snapped back to attention.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just tired, long day, you know.”

“I do know, come on, eat dinner, and then we can go to bed okay?”

Alec agrees and tries to put it from his mind. It only sort of works. He's sure Magnus notices something but he doesn't push, and Alec's thankful, he wouldn't know what to say. Magnus falls asleep easy and Alec follows soon after, he would get answers tomorrow.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading, comments and kudos are my life blood, and motivation! Come follow me on tumblr at lolguess, and the lovely Marie at fluffymalec! Part Three will be up on Monday or Tuesday, depending on how fast I can do last second edits!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so out of character in terms of word count! I had to split it in half because of the epilogue, so this chapter is only 5,000 words where the other two were 10,000.

_ “This...is weird.” _

_ “Thank you, for that stunning observation, really.” _

_ “Shut up, and look at these designs...She said that Mosconi liked puzzles, right?” _

_ “Yeah, what about it?” _

_ “Well, don't these pictures on the paper look a little...like puzzle pieces? Like, this one goes with this one, and so on and so forth?” _

_ “I could see that...this one goes here...and this one here...” _

__

\--

It's not good news that comes back, well it is good news...but not the news Alec had been hoping for. The prints Alec had given Simon are a perfect match to one of the sets lifted from the crime scene, the one leading from where the painting had been stolen. Which means that Raphael had stolen the painting.

“I think we should wait, Luke,” Alec stated from where he was standing in Luke's office, looking out the window.

“Why? We already have fingerprints that prove he was at the museum, in a pretty incriminating spot and a witness to testify that it was him on the rooftop at the coin heist,  that's enough to prosecute successfully,” Luke pointed out.

Alec turned to face him, “Santiago isn’t working alone. We know he has a partner, there were two people invovled in the coin heist, two people involved with the book, I highly doubt that they are two different people. If we bring Santiago in now he’s not going to give up his partner, no matter what we throw at him, but if we wait, and keep track of him, Santiago could lead us to right to his partner.”

Luke nodded, thinking it over, “You're right, there are other people involved. Not to mention they aren’t finished yet, if we arrest Santiago now his partner could finish the job and disappear before Santiago cracks...” He tapped his chin, finally he sighed, “Fine, organize a tail. I want him followed 24/7, tap his phone, everything, if he so much as Google's trip destinations, I want you to move on him.”

Alec nodded, “Yes, sir.”

\--

_ “The glass shows secret messages on the paper!” _

_ “Oh, my God, that's so cliché.” _

_ “Who cares, let's trace them. Come on hurry up, this could be the final clue to where he hid the Hope Diamond ” _

_ “Or Mosconi is just pulling a fast one and we've wasted our time.” _

\--

It had been two weeks, two weeks of stressful paperwork, tailing Santiago, and trying to convince everyone he was fine for different reasons. His team were all trying to make sure he wasn't affected by following his boyfriends closest friend while his boyfriend and whoever else was not directly related to the case, were wondering why he was suddenly so...‘broody’ as Isabelle had put it.

“Have you read the news yet, Alec?” Jace asked, as they drove to work.

“Hm? No,” Alec said, tilting his head back to rest on the window, thinking about falling asleep. He hadn't gone to bed until three last night, it had been his turn to watch from eleven to two. He hadn't even been able to make it to Magnus' which meant he had to sleep without him and Alec found that he always slept better with Magnus than without him.

“Somebody stole a stain glass window out of the church. Apparently it was a really special window, forged a long time ago by the Mason's.”

“Why would someone want a stain glass window?” Alec mumbled, “What are they gonna even do with it?”

“Who knows, criminals these days, I tell you,” Jace starts into a long rant about the changing tides and a bunch of other stuff that Alec simply did not have the energy for so he tuned him out. He was having dinner with Magnus tonight and he was quite looking forward to it.

Thankfully the day passed quickly and before he knows it, he’s standing outside the restaurant waiting for his boyfriend, twenty minutes early.

“Hey, early bird, you ready for tonight?” A voice sounded behind him and Alec whipped around.

When he saw Magnus, he smiled. His boyfriend was wearing the same shirt as their first date, which had always been one of Alec’s favorites, the green brought out his eyes, magnificently.

“Hey,” he greets, pulling Magnus into a hello kiss by his neck--a ‘hello kiss’ that escalates way past what he’s normally okay with in public.

Pulling back, Magnus bites his lip, his eyes scanning Alec’s body, “It’s nice to see you, I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“I know, me too. It’s just this case I’ve been working on, twenty-four hour surveillance...It’s horrible, but I would love a dinner where we don’t talk about any of it--” Of course it was in that moment Alec’s phone rang. Closing his eyes, Alec sighs resignedly, “Remind me that I love this job, please.”

Magnus laughs softly, brushing his hair back from his forehead and kissing his cheek, “You love this job, darling,  because it reminds you that there are good people in the world that deserve protection. It helps you stay close to your family and you love figuring out a puzzle. Now answer your phone and I’ll meet you in the restaurant.”

“Thank you,” Alec says, resting his forehead on Magnus’ for a second before he moves away and pulls out his phone, “Lightwood.”

“Alec, we’ve lost him,” Aline’s voice sounds from the other end.

“You’ve what?” Alec says, stepping away from Magnus completely and moving out of earshot.

“We’re so sorry, we were following him and then he headed into a crowd...and we lost him,” Aline explained, guilt resonating in every syllable.

“Where did you lose him? Can you find him? Call Simon to try and track his phone,” Alec said, rapidly.

“We already tried that. Jace and I have been combing the area for the past thirty minutes and Simon says his phone is off. He’s gone Alec…”

Closing his eyes, Alec breaths for a minute, trying to calm down. It is not Jace and Aline’s fault, he reminds himself, they’ve been helping track Raphael for days, he was bound to figure it out and slip the tail. “Okay. Here’s what you are going to do, you are going to call Simon, have him watch the phone for any signs of activity. You and Jace are going to call Lydia and you three are going to look at all the places he regulates. Have Jace call Luke and update him on the situation. If you guys can’t find him, go home and get some rest and we’ll reconvene tomorrow.”

“What are you going to do?” Aline asked.

“I am going to go have dinner with my boyfriend, who I have not seen in two weeks. My phone will be on, so keep me updated through text, don’t call unless it’s an emergency.”

“Okay, I’m really sorry, again, Alec.”

“It’s fine, these things happen.” Alec reassures her. When they hang up Alec heads into the restaurant, where Magnus has already sat at their table, he’s on his phone though, frowning down at it.

When Alec sits down, Magnus looks at him and his expressions screams guilt.

“Alec…” he starts and Alec already knows what’s coming, “I’m sorry, but Ra--my friend, really needs my help with something, it’s work, and I know we haven’t seen each other in days but it’s an emergency and he really needs me. I am so so sorry.”

Alec freezes because he can tell Magnus is lying and can tell he was about to say Raphael. Suddenly Alec feels a sick twist in his gut...Raphael, the man that pretended to be jumper to help someone else steal the Welsh coins, the man who had stolen a painting so to distract from the fact that somebody else had stolen a chapter in the Mosconi Codex, and Raphael who had just slipped the FBI tail thirty minutes ago. He had been so blind, blinded by the fact that Magnus was his boyfriend, someone he loved, that he couldn’t even see what had been right in front of him this whole time.

“Okay, Magnus, that’s fine…” Alec says, robotically, trying to compartmentalize. He needed to act normal, if it was really true...well there was a way to see if it was true, “We can just...reschedule, if it’s really that important.”

“You...you aren’t mad?” Magnus asked, his brows furrowing.

Alec shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant, “I mean, I’m a little upset. I really missed you and was looking forward to this dinner but God knows I’ve had to duck out on you plenty of times, so I can’t complain too much.”

Magnus starts to put on his coat, “I’m really sorry and I’ve missed you too. Maybe you could stay at my place and wait for me tonight? I shouldn’t be too long.”

Alec shook his head, “No...no, I’ve got to go to work, that surveillance, it’s...my shift later tonight, so I can’t,” he lied quickly, there was no way he would be able to see Magnus later, if he did what he was about to do.   

“Oh...okay if you’re sure?” Magnus said, standing. 

“Yeah...I’ll text you tomorrow though,” Alec says.

“Alright...bye, love,” Magnus says, kissing his cheek, and heading out. Alec lets him exit the building and start down the road before he grabs his coat and starts to follow him.

Logically, he knows he should call for backup, call Jace, or Aline, or Lydia. But he can’t, there’s still a chance that he’s wrong about this, that maybe Magnus really is going to help a friend and  _ not _ steal something with Raphael Santiago.

He holds onto the belief that his boyfriend, the man he loves, is not about to betray everything Alec believes about him.

 

\--

_ “I’m on my way, are you almost there?” _

_ “Yeah, but I’m telling you, after this, I’m done, I quit.  _

_ “I thought you would say that, so I’ve been making arrangements. We’ll get the diamond, and recreate ourselves.” _

_ “Ourselves?” _

_ “You didn’t think that I would leave you, did you? Now hurry up, Mosconi hid the stupid thing in a rock, but he gave us coordinates, so it should be pretty easy to narrow the location.” _

 

\--

Alec tails Magnus, driving just a few cars behind him. He lets himself stay a little further away because he can use his Find Friends app to track Magnus, or at least Magnus’ phone. He follows Magnus all the way to Spring Creek Park, just on the outskirts of Queens.

Parking his car as inconspicuously as possible, Alec pulls out his phone and tracks Magnus’ movement. He follows a little farther behind than a normal tail would allow but if Magnus is who he hopes he isn’t, he would be good at spotting a tail, especially in such a deserted area.

“Raphael, did you find the diamond?” Alec closes his eyes, no, please no, he thinks.

“I did, it’s hidden in one of the rocks. I was able to decipher the coordinates, the diamond should be right along here,” Raphael responded, “Come on, it should be relatively simple. Mosconi was pretty open about it once you got past the invisible ink.”

Alec hears Magnus snort, “I would hope so after all the effort it took to find that stupid window, and then figure out which of the pieces shows something on the pages. Invisible ink, I mean come on.”

Raphael and Magnus walk down the path and Alec follows on autopilot, pulling out his phone camera, he starts to take pictures.

It takes Magnus and Raphael forty-five minutes to find whatever diamond they had been looking for and Alec documents everything, his gut twisting the whole time.

The actual heist passes pretty fast, but to Alec it seems to drag on for eternity. Once they get to the spot, Magnus and Raphael dig up the diamond (Alec recognizes it immediately from his research as the Hope Diamond, a 500 carat diamond forged for the Hindu idol Sita, that had been lost for decades). He follows them back to Magnus’ car and watches them drive away. He stands there for a moment staring into to space, his mind blank.

Going back to his car, Alec is numb. He must sit in his car for at least two hours, staring out at the park, before finally starting the engine and driving to his apartment. Somehow, he gets there and up into the apartment.

Alec starts to pace mechanically, trying to think what just happened through logically. Magnus was Raphael Santiago’s partner. Magnus was the accomplice. He had stolen the coins and the thirteenth chapter of the Mosconi Codex. He had probably done an insurmountable number of illegal things while he and Alec had been dating. Alec had photographic evidence of him and his partner stealing a priceless diamond. 

What was he going to do? He knew the right thing, the thing his job demanded, was to turn over the evidence he had gathered and arrest Magnus and Raphael, and let them face the consequences of their actions. His heart however...his heart longed to call Magnus, to warn him, tell him that the FBI was onto him, that he needed to get out and save himself.

His job verses his heart, how very cliché. Alec continued to pace, continued to turn over the events of the day in his mind. He was still rather numb, refusing to acknowledge that is was really  _ Magnus _ , preferring to put it from his mind and ignore the fact it was the man he loved. The man that cuddled with him and showed him Marvel movies, the man who ate his sister's horrible cooking just to appease her, who put up with Jace and his overall obnoxiousness, who did all of this for Alec, because he loved Alec.

No. No, he didn’t love Alec, if he had loved Alec he would never had put him in the position of choosing between him and his job. If that was love, Alec sure as hell didn’t want it.

Yet, Alec couldn’t conceive that Magnus’ had been lying. To what end? Magnus didn’t gain anything out of lying, it’s not like he had access to any information regarding the case, even the information he did get from Alec was vague, at best. And then there was the fact that Alec  _ loved _ Magnus. How could he even think about arresting Magnus, putting Magnus in jail, with the criminals. Magnus  _ is _ a criminal, he tried to remind himself, it’s where he belongs. But Alec couldn’t connect the dots.

He once again finds himself caught between two choices and unable to make a decision. He eventually goes to bed, and goes to sleep surprisingly easily considering the way his mind had been racing.

When he wakes up in the morning, he goes through his morning routine in daze, grabbing a suit, turning on the coffee maker, checking his phone to make sure he didn’t have to pick up Jace this morning.

Reaching the office, he walks up the stairs and the first person he sees is Lydia, typing at her desk, she looks up when he enters and smiles.

“Hey, we haven’t been able to locate Santiago but Jace and Aline are rechecking places and should be back soon. We have a few agents on rotation as well, checking in on them, we’ll find him, Alec.”

“Good, good. Hey, can I...ask you something?”

“Sure.” She turned more fully towards him, as he took a seat in the chair next to her desk.

“Do you...if you knew someone was doing something illegal, but...it was someone you loved...would you turn them in?” Alec asked carefully, not looking at Lydia.

“Oh...Alec, what happened?” Lydia asked, her voice full of concern.

“I just...please, answer the question,” he needed Lydia to let him be vague about this.

He heard Lydia sigh, she seemed to understand, but his gaze was still resolutely on the ground. “I would try and remember that, the law is hard but it is the law. We have it for a reason...and if we start to forget our founding values and compromise ourselves...then we become no better than the criminals we put away.”

Alec had been expecting an answer like that but it still felt like a punch to the gut. Lydia had hit is spot on. He loved Magnus, but if he did what his heart wanted him to do, he would betray the very parts of him that made him who he was.

“Thank you, Lydia, you’ve been a big help,” he said as he moved to his desk. The decision was already made, he had a report to write.

It took him an two and a half hours to write the report. He made sure to call Dot to gather more information on the Mosconi Codex and the Hope Diamond. Alec painstakingly put everything together, linking all the heists. How the coins had, as he had thought, been a way to fund the rest of the heists. How the theft of the painting had been a distraction, that Santiago and Bane had really been there to steal Chapter Thirteen of the Mosconi Codex, he was even able to include the theft of the stain glass window after he called the correct police precinct and got the information. He connected it all to what he witnessed last night.

When everything was perfect, he took it to Luke’s office. Knocking, he heard Luke call him in.

“Hey, Alec, what’s up?” Luke said, looking up from his papers.

“I know who Santiago’s accomplice is.” Alec stated, not wanting to drag this out any longer.

Luke sat up straight, “Really, how? We lost Santiago last night and haven’t been able to track him down…”

“His accomplice was Magnus Bane,” Alec said, pushing the folder across Luke’s desk.

“What? Magnus, your boyfriend?” Luke asked, his brow furrowing in confusion as he grabbed the report and started flipping through the folder.

“I first became aware of Raphael Santiago about three months ago, he was one of Magnus’ close friends. He struck me as suspicious so I collected a print and asked Simon to run it. When it came up as nothing, I let Simon leave it out of the system but asked him to save the prints just in case. At this point I hadn’t known who it was. A few things happened that made me more suspicious of him, after I learned his name I asked Simon to rerun the prints and they came up a match. When Santiago dropped his tail, Magnus and I were at dinner and Magnus left right after, saying he needed to help a friend. I...he had started to say Raphael and so...I followed him, hoping that I was just...imagining everything, obviously, I wasn’t. The specifics are in the report.”

“Oh, Alec…” Luke started, sympathy in his voice but Alec shook his head.

“Just look at the file, please.” Luke complied and he flipped through the report.

“Well. Looks like you’ve built a great investigation, I can organize another team to go and arrest them, if you like?” Luke offered.

“No, I’ll take my team with some back up. We started this investigation, we can finish it,” Alec said firmly.

“Alec...I can send the others, you don’t have to go.”

“I know, but I...need to, this is my decision. I need to see it through, you understand, don’t you Luke?”

“Okay...if you’re sure, prep your team. Tell them what’s going on, I want this finished fast, okay?”

“Of course, sir.”

\---

_ “They know we were there, they’ve matched one of the prints!” _

_ “It’s going to be okay, they still have to find you!” _

_ “That doesn’t matter, Lightwood has connected us to all the other jobs, we’re screwed. I dropped their tail, they are going to know we did something and they are going to find out what we did. They are closing in. We need to run, right now.” _

_ “I-I…” _

_ “This isn’t the time, we don’t have any other option. We run.” _

\---

When the team arrives at Magnus’ building, it’s Alec who lead them into the building, to the elevator, and to Magnus’ door. It is Alec who knocks.

When Magnus opens the door he looks rumpled, his hair is messy, his face bare but for a little smeared eyeliner and some mascara. He looks as beautiful as the day Alec met him and it makes everything so much worse.

“Alec, I wasn’t expecting--” Magnus cuts himself off, noticing Jace, Aline, Lydia, and the rest of their backup standing in the hallway, he must notice the official badges hanging off their chests and he must realize this is not a social call, “...What is going on?”

“Magnus Bane you are under arrest for the theft of ‘Harmony Among None’ by Haley Wines, of chapter thirteen of the ‘Mosconi Codex,’ and the theft of the Hope Diamond,” Alec started, desperately compartmentalizing his emotions, pulling out his handcuffs and grabbing Magnus’ arm he tries to twist him around.

“Alec, what is going on? What are you doing?” Magnus asked, frantically, resisting when Alec tried to spin him.

Alec’s eyes closed for the briefest moment. The box that he had tied to his feelings for Magnus in was breaking. Meeting Magnus’ eyes, he felt his heart breaking,  Alec whispered, “Magnus, please.”

Magnus seemed to understand, then that there wasn’t anything he could say that would stop Alec and he let himself be turned around and his hands handcuffed, as Alec began to read him his Miranda Rights.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you...”

The drive to the FBI headquarters is awkward. Alec sits up front, while Aline and Lydia sit with Magnus in between them. They were being nothing but professional and Alec couldn’t be more thankful, he knew that if it had been Jace then he wouldn’t have been so lucky. But he had asked, begged really, Aline and Lydia to treat this like he wasn’t arresting the man he thought was the love of his life.

Magnus had tried to talk to Alec, ask him what’s going on and trying to convince him that he hadn’t done anything but he had given up when he realized that Alec wasn’t even going to look at him, much less talk to him.

Arriving at, Alec let Aline take Magnus to booking and he went up to sit at his desk.

He tries to wrap his head around what’s happening but he can’t seem to make any sense of it. Finally, he gives up and logs onto his computer, tries to write up the report for the case. It’s impossible, every time he sees Magnus’ name, it’s a stab to the gut, a painful reminder that Magnus betrayed him, lied to him. A painful reminder that Alec had betrayed him right back. He decides that Jace can do it, he won’t mind, especially if Alec offers to write his report for the next case.

Alec moves on to the Russian mob boss case and starts to finalize the details. Eventually, he gets lost in the work, he sits for what feels like an eternity, writing, and editing his final report and suddenly there is a hand on his shoulder. He jumps and spins in his chair to find Aline, Lydia, and Jace all staring at him.

His eyebrows furrow, “Do you guys need something?”

Jace bites his lip, he looks nervous and unsure, Alec looks at the rest of his team and realize they all look like that.

“Look...Alec, you don’t have to,” Jace started.

“We’d completely understand if you said no…” Aline continued.

“There isn’t any pressure for you to do it, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to, it’s that simple,” Lydia reassured.

“What is it?” Alec snaps, not having the energy for this runaround, “Stop avoiding it and just tell me what you want.”

Jace takes a deep breath, “Magnus is refusing to talk to anyone but you. Says he won’t answer anything, unless it’s you asking. We’ve tried everything we thought might help, but...he won’t budge.”

Alec feels his stomach drop, he had thought something like this might happen, he had hoped desperately that it wouldn’t. He sighs heavily.

“You don’t have to,” Jace is quick to reassure, “We have enough evidence that we could probably do it without him or we could get the information from Santiago. Really, we have other options.”

Alec shakes his head, wishing that Magnus would think about the consequences, finally he says, “This is the best option for Magnus and it’s the easiest way to get this whole thing over with.” It’s true, if Magnus cooperates it will help him be seen more favorably by the court and if Magnus confesses the whole process moves faster.

“Alec, you don’t have to help him, this isn’t about him, it’s about you,” Aline reassures.

“I know, but I started this, it’s only right that I finish it.” He stands from his desk, “Will you guys let me talk to him alone? I’d like some privacy, this conversation will not be pretty and I’d rather not have anyone watching it.”

“You know someone has to be in there, Alec, at least to make sure everything is okay,” Lydia reminds him gently.

“Fine,” Alec says shortly, “Jace, can I trust you’ll let me talk to him and not burst in?”

Jace claps Alec on the shoulder, “Whatever you need, you’re my partner and my brother, I’ve got your back.”

“Thank you.” Alec turns and starts to walk to where they keep the interrogation rooms, “Did he call for a lawyer?”

“No, not yet, he hasn’t said anything besides saying he would only talk to you.”

Nodding again, Alec tells Jace, “Only come in if I knock on the window, no matter what goes on, okay? And don’t let anyone else listen.”

“As long as you promise me it won’t get out of hand and that you’ll actually knock if you need me.”

“I promise,” Alec says, solemnly.

“Alright then, I’ll leave you alone and of course I won’t let anyone listen.”

When they reached the door, Jace pulled Alec into a brief hug, one Alec barely reciprocated, “Remember, knock if you need me, please.”

Alec nods, his whole body stiff, “I will.” He turns and grasps the door handle and once Jace is safely in the viewing room, he opens the door and enters.

Magnus is sitting at the table, with his cuffed hands intertwined on the table, and his legs crossed, the picture of sophisticated distain. Alec feels his breath catch and he doesn’t know if it’s Magnus’ beauty or if it’s the fact the man he loves is in handcuffs because of him...he decides it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Magnus looks up when he hears the door close. “Alexander…” he says and the pain in his voice is palpable. Alec feels his muscles tighten even further.

Moving forward, Alec takes the seat across from Magnus and because he can’t stand the thought or sight of it any longer, he takes out his key and unlocks Magnus’ cuffs.

“Thank you,” Magnus says and he rubs his wrists lightly.

Alec tries to think of something, anything to say but he can’t, he can’t even look Magnus in the eye. His guilt is crushing him but the anger and betrayal rattling in his chest are at odds with his guilt. In the end, this had all been Magnus, there wasn’t anything he could’ve done to stop it, at least this way he still had some control.

“Alexander, please, you have to tell me what is going on,” Magnus begs and Alec feels that pain flare in his chest.

He takes out the case file and pulls out the picture of “Harmony Among None” and the set of matching prints, along with the photos from the crime scene. He also pulls out the pictures from last night, the ones that depict Magnus and Raphael stealing the Hope Diamond.

“This is what is happening Magnus, your lies are finally catching up to you.” Alec states, firmly.  

Magnus stares at the pictures on the end, “Alec...please.”

“Please...what? What do you expect me to do here, Magnus?”

“I don’t know!” Magnus exclaims, “I don’t know, but just...please you have to believe me when I say I never wanted to hurt you…”

Alec snorts, “Believe you? How could I believe a word out of your mouth after what you have done? There is no coming back from this, Magnus.”

“Please, Alec, I love you.”

“I don’t know what you are asking for Magnus,” Alec states, rubbing a hand through his hair, “Just tell me about the diamond and the heists, or ask for your lawyer so we can move on.”

“I don’t care about that, Alec, that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.” Magnus says.

“Then why did you want to talk to me? To add insult to injury?” Alec spits out.

“Of course not, Alec, I love you, and...and I’ll tell you everything if you want but first you have to tell me something.”

Alec rolled his eyes, “You aren’t really in a position to ask for that.”

“Alec...even I know that you need me to explain some of the things…” Magnus whispers softly.

Alec shakes his head, “We can place you at both crime scenes, your prints are at the Gershon and we have photographic evidence that shows you stealing the diamond. The information you give us now is only to work out a deal, so maybe  _ wait for your lawyer _ .”

“But you want the location of the diamond, correct? And the pages to the codex and the painting? I have all that information.”

Alec closes his eyes, he  _ knows _ Magnus has that information, “Magnus, please don’t leverage that information for something like this...you have the opportunity to make a deal, don’t waste the information, okay, use it to your advantage. You really need to talk to your lawyer, please…--” as a last ditch effort he adds, “For me, get your lawyer,” Alec begs. He can protect Magnus from this, he might not have been able to protect him from his arrest, but his sentence, he can--to some extent--protect him from.

Sighing, Magnus says, “Fine, I’ll ask for my lawyer,  _ if  _ you answer my question.”

He isn’t going to give in, Alec knows this, so he sighs resignedly and takes the bait, “Okay, what do you want to know?”

“Do you love me?” The question hits Alec like a bullet, straight into his heart and he stops breathing.

He stares at Magnus, for a minute, then he stands and turns towards the door. He doesn’t...he can’t. Halfway towards the door,  Alec feels Magnus grab his wrist, gently. He stops, not turning and drops his head, as much as he doesn’t want to answer, he knows he should. His shoulders dropping, he turns back to face Magnus, who is looking at him with the most open vulnerable expression on his face.

Talking slowly, he says, “I loved Magnus Bane, the man with the crazy fashion sense and secret love for the opera, who ate Indian food with me even though he didn’t like it, and put up with my crazy job, and accepted who I was, and who didn’t lie to me, who told me it was okay to be open about my feelings, and who was trying to open up to me in return.  _ That _ man I loved,” he says it with finality.

Magnus’ eyes looked misty when he finally opened his mouth, “I am still the same man, Alexander…”

But Alec only shook his head, tears of his own filling his eyes, “No, you,” Alec jabs a finger in his direction, “are the man that lied to me for the whole of our relationship, who used that relationship to his own advantage without a thought to my feelings. You are not the man I love but just another man that has betrayed me.”

With that, Alec turned to leave the room, only pausing at the door to say, “I will call your lawyer, please cooperate from here on out.”

When he exits the room Jace is already at the door, “Are you alright?” he asks, quickly, hand reaching out and gripping Alec’s shoulder.

Alec nods, “I’m going to call Magnus’ lawyer and then I’m going to go home.”

“Alec, let somebody else call his lawyer…” Jace says.

“No, I already know who his lawyer is and his passcode to his phone, just...let me.”

“At least let me take you home, you shouldn’t be driving when you’re like this…”

“Okay,” Alec agrees, he’s tired and he is done arguing for the day.

They walk to the office area together, Jace grabs Magnus’ phone from the pile of evidence and hands it to Alec, who types in the passcode and scrolls until he finds the right number.

He moves away from the rest of them while he puts the phone to his ear.

“Magnus?”

“No, this is Special Agent Alec Lightwood, calling on behalf of Magnus Bane.”

“Alec? Magnus’ Alec?”

Not knowing how to reply to that all Alec says is, “I’m calling to inform you that your client has been arrested and is in the custody of the FBI. He is being held at the New York headquarters, do you need an address?”

“No, I know how to get there, may I ask what my client is being held for?”

“An agent will inform you when you arrive Ms. Loss.”

“Okay, I’ll be there soon, thank you for calling.”

Before she can hang up Alec drops the professional act and says, “Get him to accept a deal, Cat. I can promise one is coming but he needs to agree to it and cooperate from here on out.”

“I will, Alec, I promise,” she reassures and Alec hangs up quickly, there is only one thing left he can do for Magnus. He grabs his stuff off the desk and goes to see Luke before he leaves.

Knocking on Luke’s office door he hears a faint ‘come in’ and he enters, closing the door behind him.

“Alec, how are you?” Luke asks, looking up from his computer.

“I’m fine sir, I came in here to tell you that Mr. Bane has elected to exercise his right to counsel and his lawyer is on the way.”

“Is that all?”

“No, I would also like to inform you that I will be taking a vacation. I don’t know how long it will be but if I don’t show up you can assume I’m taking another day.”

Luke nods, smiling sympathetically, “I understand, Alec. You haven’t taken a vacation since you got here, you’ve built up quite the amount of vacation/sick days. Take as many as you need, we’re family here”

“Thank you, I’ll see you later,” Alec said as he left the office. He headed over to where Jace was waiting for him. He nodded at Aline and Lydia and left with Jace.

When Jace and Alec reached Alec’s apartment, they both got out and headed up. Unlocking his door, Alec wandered in followed by Jace, only to find Isabelle sitting on his couch waiting for him.

“Hey, big bro, I thought we could have a movie night?” she offered, smiling gently and lifting the edge of the blanket for him.

Alec sighed, there was no way he was getting out of this but he only had to do one thing before he gave into his siblings, “Just let me get changed.”

Isabelle nodded and Alec stepped out of the room and wandered into his bedroom. He pulled out his phone and dialed Clary.

“Alec? Hey, how’ve you been?” was the first thing she said when she picked up, Alec rolled his eyes.

“I’m as good as can be expected, Clary, but I’m actually calling for a favor…”

“Oh, Alec, you don’t need to ask…”

Closing his eyes, Alec felt his eyes burn with tears, “I know I should be asking you to push for maximum sentence or to just...tear him apart or something...But...I-I can’t, Clary. I’m begging you, go easy on him, minimum security. I know what happens in prison,and I can’t even imagine him being in a place like that...Clary, he has information about where he hid all the stuff, if it can be recovered…”

“Alec, sh, it’s okay. It’s is completely understandable for you to be trying to protect him, you love him. Even now, I can only imagine what I would be trying to do if it was Jace. As for the other stuff, don’t worry, I am already on it. Catarina Loss, has already contacted me, I told her I’d be willing to talk about a deal.”

Alec lets out a sigh of relief, “Thank you, Clary, I owe you…”

“No, Alec, this is what family does for each other,” she reassures him.

“I-I should go, Isabelle and Jace are waiting for me...Thanks again, Clary.”

“Of course, Alec, take care okay? I’ll see you soon, I’m sure.”

“Goodbye,” he said.

After hanging up with Clary, Alec changed out of his suit and into his favorite pair of sweatpants, and his oldest, softest sweatshirt and went to join his siblings in front of the tv.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue will be soon, Friday at the latest, but I am trying for Thursday!! I just have to edit it one last time, thank you so much for reading, I'm thankful to all of you lovely people for taking the time <3.


	4. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE!! Here is the epilogue, one day early, because I freaked out and thought I promised to post it today, then realized I promised to post it tomorrow, but at that point I had already finished editing, so I thought what the heck! Might as well give my amazing readers the last chapter a day early!!

_**One Year Later** _

Time moves very strangely after Magnus’ arrest. Alec feels like he’s caught in an ocean current, he gets closer and closer to finally being able to let go and then, the water recedes and drags Alec along with it. It’s an endless cycle, and Alec...stops trying to get out of it. He lets the currents push him into the middle of the ocean, where he is left floating aimlessly. People try and talk him out of it, in the beginning he let them, thought it might be good to talk to his friends, try and move on, forget Magnus. But then he realizes that forgetting Magnus...it isn’t possible, the other man has rooted himself so firmly in Alec’s mind that he can’t even look at Indian food without thinking about Magnus.  It doesn’t help that Magnus’ letters arrive every other day. Alec reads them and saves them, but never responds.

He had gone back to work after a month off, hoping that the familar routine would help him and to some extent it did. He was able to start interacting with his friends and family again, less likely to push them away. It was slow, but over the year he’s moved on...for lack of a better term.

Because Alec still feels the absence of Magnus. He feels it in the empty apartment, in the cold side of the bed in the morning, in only having to make one cup of coffee. But most of all, he feels it in his chest, a pang everytime Magnus is mentioned or when he comes across something of Magnus’ in his bedroom. It’s not an emptiness because Alec refuses to believe he needs a relationship to be ‘full,’ and he has his friends and family, but it’s a certain...loneliness that leaves him aching, like a muscle that hasn’t been used in a long time.

The others notice his melancholy behavior and they all try to pull him out of it in their own ways and Alec appreciates their efforts, and tries to go along and hopes it works.

It’s on one of these such ‘outings’ with Lydia, that she finds the letter’s Magnus had been writing him for a year now, he must have left them out earlier.

“Alec, what are these?” she asks, walking back into the room where Alec is bending over the DVD player.

He turned and looked, freezing momentarily when he saw she was holding his box full of letters, “Those...those are the letters that Magnus writes me.”

She raised her eyebrows, “And you read them?”

“Yes, I read them.”

“Alec…” she sighed, “You keep saying that you want to let go but...you do stuff like this and it makes me wonder if you really do want to let go or if you’re just saying that because you think that’s what you should want…”

“I just...want to hear what he has to say sometimes.”

Lydia smiled at him, “Do you want to let him go, Alec? It’s okay if you don’t, nobody is going to judge you.”

Alec bites his lip and the words start pouring out of his mouth without permission, “I...I’m not sure, it’s all so...so, screwed up, and I--sometimes I want to talk to him so bad. I almost write him back or answer when he calls, but then...then I remember arresting him and found out what he did..and I just  _ can’t _ .”

“Look, you have to make a decision. You either have to unpack the box,” Lydia lifted the box of letters a little higher, “And confront Magnus about it and talk through your problems. Or you close the box and throw it away. If you never close the box, you will never be able to move on, there will always be the box left open in the back of your mind that is full of ‘what ifs,’ they will never leave and you will never move on.”

Alec stood, and hugged Lydia firmly, “You’re...amazing, Lydia, really.”

She stroked his back gently, “It’s okay, you’re just...going to have to choose and I know it’s a really hard decision, okay, but we’re all here for you, no matter what you decide.”

 

\---

When he reached the table, he sat and the guard left him, he was thankful that his position in the FBI allowed him to be given privacy with inmates, this way no one would overhear him. He waited nervously, his fingers twitching. Lydia had said he needed closure, so here he was.

When the door opened, Alec almost twisted around to look but stopped just before he started, deciding he could wait to see Magnus in the orange jumpsuit and cuffs. When they brought him around, he was thankful they had complied and left off the major cuffs, though his hands were still cuffed together in the front.

Magnus looked...well, not the best. His face was thinner and his skin paler, his hair had obviously been cut and hung limply just below his ears, and the orange jumpsuit, well, at least Magnus could pull off orange to some extent.

“Alec.” Magnus stated, as he sat across from him, “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Alec just bit his lip and looked down, “I...didn’t want to come, I just...needed some closure, or something, according to Lydia, so… here I am.”

“Here you are indeed.” Magnus was being short with him, which Alec had prepared himself for. He had sent Magnus to jail and then never replied to his letters, or picked up the phone, he could see where that might annoy him a bit.

“How...how are you?” Alec asked carefully, he hadn’t seen any visual injuries, but he had to make sure…

“I’m fine, you know, for being in prison and all.”

Alec winced, “Magnus...I’m--I never wanted to do that to you. I spent hours agonizing thinking over it, but in the end...you put me in an impossible position. You have to know that... and I had to make a choice and...and I had to choose.”

Magnus sighed, his eyes softening, “I know, I know, and I’m so sorry about that. It isn’t your fault, I always said I knew what I was getting into with dating an FBI agent, didn’t I?”

Alec snorts softly, “I guess you did…”

“Alexander, I am truly sorry and I know it’s stupid for me to even ask but, is there anyway you would be able to forgive me? I...we might never go back to the way we once were...and as much as that pains me to think about, I know what I did...to forgive is one thing, to trust me again…”

Sighing deeply, Alec turned it over in his mind. If he was honest with himself, he had already forgiven Magnus. The letters and the phone calls...he knew Magnus regretted what he did. “I wouldn’t ever want to go back to the way we were, Magnus.” he says finally, and Magnus winces.

“I under--”

“No you don’t,” Alec cuts him off, “The way we were was you lying to me and never being honest, holding back a lot of your life. That’s not a relationship I would ever want to go back to, so if that is what you want, then no.”

“Of course not, I--this time it would be different. You already know the majority of what I was keeping from you,” Magnus said, his eyes hopeful.

Alec nodded slowly, “If I’m being honest...I already forgave you. I know you regret what you did, I understand to some extent that you got in too deep. Whether or not I can trust you again...you have to get that with my history, with Sebastian and everything he did...I--it’s very hard for me to believe you, even when I want to.”

“We can go as slow as you like, Alec, the ball is in your court.” Magnus reassured.

Alec nodded, “I think...Maybe we start as friends? I’ll accept your calls and will write back…”

“Will you visit?” Magnus asked, hopefully.

“I...maybe,” Alec stuttered.

“It’s okay, you can visit or not, that’s fine. It’s up to you, Alec.”

Letting out a breath, Alec nodded, “I know and I appreciate that.” They sat in silence for a bit, before Alec asked again, “Are you really okay?”

Magnus smiled at him, “I am. Prison is...not the most luxurious place but...I’ve had very few problems.”

“You’ve had problems?” Alec asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

Laughing softly, Magnus said, “Very few and all at the beginning. I held my own though, so mostly everyone leaves me alone.”

“You were okay though? No injuries? This is a minimum security prison, I’d thought you’d be alright…”

“Alec, I am alright. There were two incidents and they were just… ‘let’s test the fresh meat and see what he’s made of’ incidents, nothing unusual and nothing I wasn’t able to handle, I assure you.”

Alec nodded, not fully reassured but content that it had stopped.

“How are you?” Magnus asked.

“I’m...fine.”

“How’s work?”

Alec shrugged, “It’s been slow since I got back. I think Luke is trying to ease me back in, which is stupid.”

“‘Since you got back?’ Did you take a vacation?”

“Yeah after you...after your arrest I was...not in a good place, so I took some time off, to try and regather my thoughts, re-focus, all that.”

Magnus’ smile was tight, “Did you go anywhere?”

“No, I mostly hung out at the apartment. Lydia, Jace and all them came around a lot, trying to--well, to hang out.”

This time Magnus’ smile was more of a grimace, “I’m sorry I did that to you..”

“And I’m sorry I put you in prison, so I think we’re even,” Alec said, “Look, we’ve talked about it and I am going to try and start trusting you again. I’d really like to move on and not rehash it a million times.”

“I know...and I get that but I just...you need to know that if I could change one thing in my life, it would be hurting you. You didn’t deserve it and I...it’s my biggest regret.”

“Thank you for saying that but let’s put the matter to rest,” Alec said.

“Okay. How is everyone?”

“They’re good. Clary and Jace are getting married.”

At the mention of Clary, Magnus perks up, “I...if it’s not to much to ask, could you give Clary my thanks? I know that she could’ve been much worse when it came to trial, but she was...surprisingly accommodating...I don’t suppose you had anything to do with that?”

Alec shrugs, “I might have called in a few...favors, for you, but no one really...cared, they were all willing.”

“What other favors did you call in, Alec?” Magnus asked, his eyes narrowing.

“No one really, Clary was the biggest one, the official one, but...when you were interrogated...I made sure the people taking your statements were...nicer than they normally been and I kept Lydia and Isabelle away from you, which you should be really thankful for, they were both ready to rip your head off…”

“You didn’t have to that, Alec...I hurt you, you should’ve thrown me to the wolves…”

“I loved you, Magnus. I told you that you weren’t the same man but I lied to you, I knew you were still the Magnus Bane I knew, just another puzzle piece was revealed...And I couldn’t let you...I had to protect you and it is not something that I would ever change. It was my fault you were in the position you were in, anyway.”

“It wasn’t, Alec. I put myself in that position and worse, I put you in that position. You hold no blame in this scenario, you have to accept that.”

“Okay,” Alec agrees and steers them away from the talk of the whole thing. “So, have you talked to anyone else?”

“No, not really, they won’t let me talk to Raphael, which I understand. I’ve talked to Cat some but she’s busy, and unless it’s about my case she can’t really come visit. All my other...associates wouldn’t dare set foot in a federal prison. And obviously Isabelle and them wouldn’t really talk to me, so, yeah, not really.”

Alec felt a pang of guilt, “There isn’t much I can do about the Raphael situation, but I can talk to Isabelle. I know you two were really close, she’s just...trying not to hurt my feelings, or something stupid like that…”

“You don’t have to do anything Alec, I’m glad you’re talking to me,” Magnus said.

“About that…” Alec checked his watch, “I have a meeting at one and you have lunch at some point, so…”

“This is goodbye,” Magnus said.

“For now...I’ll be in touch,” Alec promised, reaching over he gripped Magnus’ hand for a second, and looked into his eyes, making sure he knew he was sincere, “This won’t be the end, Magnus, not yet.” 

It wasn’t the end, Alec took awhile to come around but he answered Magnus’ calls and replied to his letters occasionally. It took him a year to finally visit again and it was substantially less awkward than the first visit. Alec was more comfortable with Magnus and they talked for an hour or so. Magnus didn’t push, he let Alec lead and let Alec set the boundaries. After the second visit, Alec was even more comfortable. He answered almost all of Magnus’ letters and started visiting once or twice every two weeks.

Over time, that expanded into twice every week and only the fact that Magnus was in a low security prison and Alec’s standing at the bureau allowed them this luxury. Alec was hesitant to take the first step into getting back together with Magnus. He knew Magnus regretted it and would never do it again...but he couldn’t help but feel as though he was kidding himself.

“Do you think a criminal can change?” Alec asked Jace one day, throwing a ball of rubberbands in the air, trying to give the air of nonchalance.

Jace shrugged, “I think it depends. It’s sort of like an addict, right? At least, that’s what it sounded like when I’ve talked to career criminals. They love the high, the adrenaline rush that comes with it, and they get addicted to that feeling. So, I think the thought is always going to be there but if they have the right support system and a reason, then yeah, I think they can overcome it.”

Alec stared at him, impressed, “Wow, that was...really good, man, thanks.”

“Anytime, and hey, for what it’s worth, I think Magnus can change and that he wants to.”

Blushing, Alec nodded, of course Jace knew what he was really asking. Thinking about what Jace had said, he knew that he wanted Magnus. There was no way around it, he loved Magnus, he always would, and Magnus, well he loved him back.

Walking into the prison that day, Alec knew what he had to do. It felt oddly like that time after their first big fight, when Lydia had told him to just be honest. It had worked last time, maybe it would this time.

“I need to know you want to change.” Alec stated firmly, when Magnus sat down.

Blinking in surprise, Magnus took a moment to answer, “Change what?”

“Change, like not be a criminal anymore when you get out.” Alec clarified, picking a little nervously at his sleeve.

“Oh,” Magnus said, like it hadn’t been what he was expecting, “I-I’m still not really sure…”

“I can’t do this--” Alec gestured to himself and Magnus “--if you aren’t willing to stop being a criminal. I refuse to be the person you ask to clean up messes for or who turns a blind eye to whatever you do. I can’t ever compromise myself, I came so close to doing that with you and I never want to be put in the position where I have to choose the man I love or my own values.”

Magnus nodded slowly, “Okay. I won’t, I’m done. For good. To be honest, I was done the moment after we stole that book. It all became much more than it was worth and you were there and I loved you, and all I could think about was how I was only hurting you...and it stopped being fun for me. So, yeah, I’ll stop.”

Alec let out a breath, “Alright then. Magnus, would you like to get back together with me?”

“I would love to in exactly 395 days, and counting.”

“What?”

“I’ll get back together with you in 395 days and then I’ll take you out to dinner.”

“You get out in 395 days?”

“Yup and I can’t wait, Alexander.”

Reaching a hand across the table, Alec gripped Magnus’ hand, “Neither can I.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys it's been an amazing adventure and I'm so thankful to each and every one of you who read this. This fic was the first story I have written and completed in years! I have had major writing block since about 8th grade and never really had any idea what I wanted to write. This fic has helped me get back into writing and I am so excited for it! There are some stories in the works for you guys also. So, stay tuned because there will be a soulmate au soon and a swimming one!! Woo. Although the second one is still VERY much in the planning process, but it's coming, and I might post some sneak peeks on my tumblr, so come follow me (lolguess) if you want to stay updated (or if you just want to chat)! I love you guys, you are the BEST. <3

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU for reading, it means a lot to me, if you want you can leave comments and kudos. They're always appreciated!! Come follow/chat with me on tumblr, at lolguess. And don't forget to follow the marvelous Marie!


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